LNG: Driftwood LNG Project More Positive Under Woodside Energy: Montel

The 37.6bcm Driftwood LNG project on the US Gulf coast is more likely to proceed under new Woodside Energy ownership, according to Montel sources.

• Australia’s Woodside Energy plans to buy Tellurian, the developers of Driftwood LNG, for $1.2bn, including debt.
• Tellurian has so far failed to secure binding offtake partners or reach FID despite beginning construction in 2022.
• The future of Driftwood is more positive under Woodside, said JP Lacouture at Kpler but would need to renew its export permit, “which has been a major issue for many projects”.
• Woodside planned to keep a “reasonable portion” of LNG from Driftwood uncontracted and sell at TTF, JKM or oil indexation pricing, CEO Meg O’Neill said on Monday
• “Having LNG exposure on all three indices allows us the opportunity to capture the market at the points in time where one index is out of sync with others,” she said.
• Woodside expects to complete the deal in Q4 and is targeting FID of the first phase as early as the Q1 2025 which could lead to commercial operations before Q2 2029.