On November 3, Shell announced that it would sell a 16.67% non-operating interest in the North West Shelf (NWS) LNG project in Australia to XRG, the investment platform of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), for base consideration of US$1.45 billion, plus additional payments tied to project milestones.
The effective date of the transaction is retroactive to January 1, 2026. The deal is expected to close in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
NWS is operated by Woodside. Its participants include Woodside, Chevron, BP, Shell, the Japanese Mitsui & Mitsubishi joint venture, and a joint venture entity in which CNOOC participates. Shell’s asset package in this sale includes upstream oil and gas interests, pipeline and midstream infrastructure interests, related licenses, project agreements, and gas offtake arrangements. Upon completion, XRG will enter the Australian energy asset market for the first time, taking over Shell’s position in the NWS joint venture structure.
Shell’s rationale for the sale is consistent with its portfolio adjustment: NWS has entered maturity, Shell does not participate in its operations, and the project is expected to shift to a third-party tolling model in the future. The return structure of resource-based LNG is becoming less flexible for non-operating shareholders. Reports in February 2026 already said that Shell was considering selling the interest, precisely because the project’s model shift no longer matched the company’s overall portfolio.
Shell’s retained Australian assets include the QGC project it operates, the Prelude floating LNG facility, and its Gorgon interest, among others. The company maintains its target of 4–5% annual LNG sales growth through 2030. The US$1.45 billion released by the sale of the NWS non-operating interest will be allocated to integrated gas assets where Shell has operating advantages.
The buyer, XRG, last year failed in a US$18.7 billion bid for Australian gas producer Santos. Its US$1.45 billion entry into the NWS non-operating interest is smaller in size, but gives it access to the same Asia-Pacific LNG supply network.
