Subsidiaries of XRG P.J.S.C. would acquire Shell Australia Pty Ltd’s 16.67% interest in the North West Shelf gas project and assume associated decommissioning obligations under a deal with a $1.45 billion base price.
XRG is wholly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Shell announced the agreement Tuesday and said the base price, in U.S. dollars, is subject to adjustments. A further payment depends on a milestone, but Shell did not disclose its amount.
The non-operating interest includes upstream assets, pipelines, processing infrastructure and commercial arrangements. Shell said the buyers would provide security for the decommissioning obligations they assume.
Shell Integrated Gas President Cederic Cremers said the sale “realises value from a mature, non-operated asset.” Woodside Energy operates the North West Shelf project, which it says has supplied customers in Australia and overseas for about 40 years.
Shell said output from the project’s original fields is declining. In 2025, Woodside’s share of North West Shelf project production was 31.2 million barrels of oil equivalent, compared with 38.1 million in 2024. Woodside attributed the drop to reservoir decline.
Shell said lower output from the original fields is making room for gas supplied by other resource owners. Woodside says the Karratha Gas Plant processes that gas under fee arrangements. Woodside’s 2025 annual report puts the plant’s total liquefied natural gas capacity at 14.3 million tonnes per year.
The agreement has an effective date of Jan. 1, 2026. Shell expects to complete the sale in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
