Shell Mulls $2bn+ Sale of Oz LNG Facilities: Press

Shell is looking to sell a stake in the common facilities of its 8.5mn mt/yr Queensland Curtis LNG plant in Australia – a deal worth more than $2bn, Reuters reported on June 3.

"Royal Dutch Shell is considering a sale of a 26.25% interest in the Queensland Curtis LNG Common Facilities – a multibillion dollar investment opportunity," a sale flyer seen by Reuters stated. Sources told the news agency that the stake could be worth between $2bn and $3bn.

Infrastructure investors approached Shell expressing interest in the assets before the flyer went out, the sources said. Rothschild & Co are managing the sale, which could be concluded this year.

Shell is the majority owner of QCLNG, while minority stakes are held by China National Offshore Oil Corp (Cnooc) and Japan's Tokyo Gas. But the Anglo-Dutch major is the sole owner of its common facilities, which include two LNG storage tanks, water, fuel and power generation systems, a tanker-loading jetty and terminals.

The facilities offer investors a US-dollar denominated, inflation-linked capacity fee from Cnooc and Tokyo Gas over 15 years, regardless of throughput. Shell took over as QCLNG's operator through its $53bn takeover of BG Group in 2016.