Woodside is set to acquire Texas-based LNG group Tellurian, including its owned and operated US Gulf Coast Driftwood LNG development opportunity.
The consideration for the transaction is an all-cash payment of approximately $1.8 billion.
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“The acquisition of Tellurian and its Driftwood LNG development opportunity positions Woodside to be a global LNG powerhouse,” Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said.
“It adds a scalable US LNG development opportunity to our existing approximately 10Mtpa of equity LNG in Australia. Having a complementary US position would allow us to better serve customers globally and capture further marketing optimisation opportunities across both the Atlantic and Pacific Basins.
“The Driftwood LNG development opportunity is competitively advantaged. Woodside expects to leverage its global LNG expertise to unlock this fully permitted development and expand our relationship with Bechtel, which is the EPC contractor for both Driftwood LNG and our Pluto Train 2 project in Australia.
“Through this acquisition, we are delivering on our strategy to thrive through the energy transition. Woodside believes that LNG will play a key role in the energy transition and is well positioned to deliver the energy the world needs while delivering significant value to our shareholders.”
Driftwood LNG is a fully permitted, pre-final investment decision (FID) development opportunity located near Lake Charles, Louisiana. The current development plan comprises five LNG trains through four phases, with a total permitted capacity of 27.6Mtpa.
The foundation development includes Phase 1 (11Mtpa) and Phase 2 (5.5Mtpa). Woodside is targeting FID readiness for Phase 1 of the Driftwood LNG development opportunity from the first quarter of 2025.
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Under the proposed transaction, Woodside will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Tellurian Inc. Tellurian’s Board of Directors has approved the transaction and has recommended that its shareholders approve the transaction. The transaction is targeting completion in the fourth quarter of the 2024 calendar year.
