Woodside Energy has said that it plans to talks with Chinese firms to invest in its $12 billion Scarborough gas development and Pluto LNG plant’s expansion integrated project.
Woodside Energy has said that it plans to talks with Chinese firms to invest in its $12 billion Scarborough gas development and Pluto LNG plant’s expansion integrated project as the Australian operator has already started talks with the project’s potential LNG buyers.
However, Reuters cited Woodie’s CEO Meg O'Neill as saying that for now, the company is not talking to any Chinese prospective partners.
“But we would welcome the opportunity to bring a partner in” as “we want a quality counterparty who recognizes the value of Scarborough and pays us a fair price, and there's plenty of Chinese companies that certainly meet the criteria of a quality counterparty."
According to the
Global LNG Database®, Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 (expansion) integrated project was 30% complete as of April 2023 and remain on track for targeted first LNG cargo in 2026.
The Scarborough gas field is located in the Carnarvon Basin, approximately 375 km off the coast of Western Australia. The field to be connected by a 430 km pipeline to a second LNG train at the existing Pluto LNG onshore facility.
The Scarborough's gas production to be allocated to: Pluto Train 2 for producing 5 MMT/Y of LNG; Pluto Train 1 for producing 3 MMT/Y of LNG; and Domestic gas.
Woodside is operator and holds a 100% participating interest in Scarborough, 51% participating interest in Pluto Train 2 and 90% participating interest in Pluto LNG.
The operator has repeatedly said that “the sell-down process for equity in the Scarborough Joint Venture is progressing.”
Meanwhile, Reuters cited Australian industry executives as warning that the government's repeated intervention in domestic gas prices could have long-term repercussions on investments in its wider energy sector.
Domestic supply shortages in the east coast and record gas prices last year prompted government measures including caps on local natural gas and coal prices as it proposed expanding its powers to curb LNG exports from Australia's three east coast projects to meet shortfalls for the region which is home to most of its population and gas-dependent manufacturers.
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