Stonepeak’s $5.7B stake in Louisiana LNG signals American-first export ambitions
Woodside and Stonepeak team up to supercharge U.S. LNG exports
Stonepeak’s $5.7 billion acquisition of a 40% stake in Woodside Energy’s Louisiana LNG project, announced April 6, 2025, underscores the accelerating momentum behind U.S. LNG exports. The deal, valuing the Calcasieu Parish terminal at a hefty premium, aligns with a broader narrative I’ve tracked on Substack--namely, the U.S. seizing its moment as a global energy powerhouse. Woodside, Australia’s LNG giant, picked up the project (formerly Driftwood LNG) from Tellurian for $1.2 billion in 2024, and now, with Stonepeak’s cash infusion, it’s barreling toward a final investment decision (FID) in Q2 2025.
This isn’t just a financial play….. it’s a strategic one. Stonepeak’s funding covers 75% of the project’s 2025-2026 costs for its initial 16.5 MTPA phase, easing Woodside’s burden while keeping it in the driver’s seat. The three-train facility, with a total permitted capacity of 27.6 MTPA, positions Louisiana LNG as a heavyweight contender. Woodside’s plan? Sell down more equity--potentially to players like Tokyo Gas or Saudi Aramco’s MidOcean Energy--targeting a leaner 50% stake. It’s a smart hedge in a capital-intensive game.
Rewind to my earlier pieces: the DOE’s scrapping of LNG export deadlines (DOE Ditches LNG Export Deadlines) signaled a green light for projects like this, unshackling them from bureaucratic quicksand. Meanwhile, Rio Grande LNG’s decade-long saga (The Rio Grande LNG Project: A Decade in the Making) showed how perseverance pays off in this space. And let’s not forget the Biden-era LNG study suppression (Biden’s LNG Study Suppression Undermined U.S. Energy), which briefly clouded the sector’s outlook--only for Trump’s pro-export stance to flip the script.
Stonepeak’s bet reflects confidence in U.S. LNG’s global edge, especially as Europe and Asia scramble for alternatives to Russian gas. With Bechtel already on the ground and FID looming, Louisiana LNG could hit first production by 2028. At $900-$960 per ton, it’s not cheap, but the risk-reward math checks out in a world hungry for clean-burning fuel. This deal isn’t just about one terminal--it’s a marker of where the energy map is headed. Expect more moves like this as the U.S. cements its LNG supremacy.