Osaka Gas Buys into Browse LNG Project Amid Intensified Japanese Interest

BP has sold a 5% stake in the Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Western Australia's coast to Osaka Gas for $200 million. This is the second purchase of a similar percentage by an Asian country, following South Korea's GS Energy buying into the project three months ago. BP had held a 44% interest in the Browse syndicate, led by Woodside Energy.

Woodside's current proposal involves piping Browse gas 600 miles south through a submarine pipeline for processing at its existing North West Shelf LNG project near Karratha. Japanese companies have been major investors and customers of Australian LNG since the 1980s, but their interest has intensified since the outbreak of the war in Iran.

Meg O'Neill, BP's chief executive, previously served as Woodside's CEO, which discovered the Browse gas fields over 40 years ago. The project's development was delayed due to environmental concerns and remote location.