Woodside Energy Trading Singapore Pte Ltd. entered a flexible long-term agreement with Uniper Global Commodities SE to supply LNG cargoes into Europe.
Uniper has been looking for replacements for Russian gas sources cut off following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Up to 12 cargoes per year (over 0.8 million tonnes/year) will be sent to Europe beginning in January 2023 for a term of up to 16 years until 2039, Uniper said. Supply from September 2031 will be conditional on Uniper finalizing its long-term strategic capacity bookings in northwest Europe, expected in March 2023.
The agreement with Woodside secures additional LNG supplies for Uniper customers in Europe, said Klaus-Dieter Maubach, Uniper Group chief executive.
“It will support our security of supply strategy together with the development of our LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven,” he said.
Russian gas flows to Europe have fallen to 1,600 terajoules/day in early September from over 17,000 terajoules/day at end 2020, according to media reports. The 91% drop in Russian gas supplies is equivalent to 95 million tonnes/year (tpy) of LNG.
Woodside Energy Group chief executive Meg O’Neill said the latest agreement with Uniper reflects the increasingly interconnected nature of the LNG trade in the Atlantic and Pacific basins as global markets respond to energy security challenges.
Uniper is already contracted to buy an initial 1 million tpy of LNG a year from Woodside, increasing to 2 million tpy from 2026, provided Woodside’s Scarborough LNG project off Western Australia attains planned development.
In a separate deal announced this week, Woodside will buy 2.5 million tpy of LNG over 20 years from the Commonwealth LNG export terminal under development in Cameron Parish, La.