Australia North West Shelf Venture Delivers LNG Cargo to India

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s North West Shelf venture, the nation’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it delivered a cargo to India under an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Shell Eastern LNG unit.

The venture can’t comment on the pricing of the shipment or provide any commercial details, the Perth-based venture, operated by Woodside Petroleum Ltd., said in an e-mailed response to questions. Shell will bring the shipment to its terminal at Hazira at a landed cost of $9.4 per million British thermal units, Press Trust of India reported Jan. 7, citing unnamed industry officials.

The A$25 billion ($17 billion) North West Shelf venture last year expanded LNG production capacity at its Karratha site in Western Australia by 37 percent to 16.3 million metric tons a year. The venture has long-term contracts to sell fuel to Japan, South Korea and China.

BHP Billiton Ltd., BP Plc, Chevron Corp., Woodside’s 34 percent shareholder Shell and a venture between Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. own stakes in the North West Shelf venture.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net