Westcott, who took over as acting CEO in December last year following Meg O’Neill’s appointment with BP, provided more details on the Louisiana LNG project during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday.
Since the final investment decision (FID) on the project in April 2025, construction has continued to progress on the 16 mtpa project.
The three-train Louisiana LNG export facility is more than 22 percent complete and continues to target first LNG cargo in 2029.
In November last year, US natural gas pipeline operator Williams purchased stakes in Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project and the Driftwood pipeline.
Williams will hold 10 percent equity in Louisiana HoldCo, with the remaining 90 percent of HoldCo currently owned by Woodside.
HoldCo owns 60 percent equity in Louisiana LNG Infrastructure (InfraCo), with the remainder being owned by US private equity firm Stonepeak.
“Value over speed”
During the call, Westcott answered a question about the HoldCo sell-down progress and the company’s confidence in completing its sell-downs in the first half of this year.
“We are very happy with how the process is going on the sell-down for Louisiana LNG. In a short amount of time, we’ve brought in Stonepeak on the infrastructure side, and we’ve got Williams at the HoldCo level, and we continue to target up to another 20 percent of HoldCo sell-down, she said.
“Importantly, these transactions with Stonepeak and Williams have reduced the capital commitment for Woodside to $9.9 billion, or 57 percent of the total CapEx, and it’s really solved the infrastructure and pipeline capital spend, which is positioning us well for other partners,” Westcott said.
“And so there really has been no change in our process or momentum, but we are taking a disciplined approach,” she said.
Westcott noted that Woodside is “very committed to getting value over speed with our continued sell-downs.”
“We do have strong interest from counterparties. We are looking for strategic partners that complement the skills and experiences of Woodside and that value long-term relationships, and I’m very pleased with the interest that we continue to have in this,” she said.
Finance chief Graham Tiver added that “the balance sheet is, you know, gearing well within the range $9.3 billion in liquidity.”
“We have time to ensure, as Liz said, that we find the right partner for the long-term and at the right value, very similar to what we did for Scarborough, but encouraged by progress,” Tiver said.
Trains 4 and 5
Including Trains 4 and 5, the Louisiana LNG project has a permitted capacity of 27.6 mtpa.
During the call, Westcott also answered a question about whether Woodside sees sell-downs as a precondition to sanctioning Trains 4 and 5.
“Trains 4 and 5 are a great opportunity for Woodside. They would be a highly advantaged development for us because they’re able to take the benefits of the installed infrastructure that Trains 1, 2, and 3 already have,” she said.
“Importantly, the site where we’re installing Louisiana LNG has all the permits in place to enable two additional trains and FEED was completed, so we have a lot of a head start on Trains 4 and 5,” she said.
“The important feature for us, particularly in 2026, is getting further sell-down in the HoldCo level for Trains 1, 2 and 3 and the foundation partners of Stonepeak and Williams, they’ve got opportunity to participate in expansion if that’s something that is progressing. But our focus does continue to be on HoldCo sell-down of Trains 1, 2, and 3,” Westcott said.
