Shell in talks with Adnoc to sell Australian LNG plant stake

Energy major Shell is reportedly in early talks with potential buyers, including a unit of Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc, to sell a minority stake in its A$34 billion ($24 billion) North West Shelf gas export plant in Western Australia.

Discussions are at an initial stage with XRG, the low-carbon energy and chemicals investment arm of Adnoc, and Saudi Aramco-backed Midocean Energy, Bloomberg reported, quoting unidentified sources.

In September, the news agency reported that Shell planned to sell a 16.67 percent stake in the North West Shelf.

“Shell regularly assesses its portfolio to inform disciplined capital allocation,” a Shell spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Perth-headquartered Woodside Energy Group operates the North West Shelf. Other partners include the UK’s BP, China’s CNOOC and a venture between Japan’s Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp.

This month, XRG, Argentina’s state oil company YPF and Italy’s Eni signed a binding joint development agreement to advance Argentina LNG, a project expected to reach a liquefied natural gas capacity of 12 million tons a year.

The deal will support Abu Dhabi’s objective to reach 20-25 million mtpa of LNG capacity by 2035. 

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