Stonepeak Buys 40% Stake in Louisiana LNG Project in $5.7B Deal
Stonepeak, a New York-headquartered alternative investment firm focused on infrastructure and real assets, has agreed to purchase a 40% stake in Louisiana LNG Infrastructure LLC, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export terminal in Calcasieu Parish, LA, owned by Woodside Energy Group Ltd.
Valued at $5.7 billion, this transaction advances Woodside toward a final investment decision (FID) on the project, easing its capital burden through Stonepeak’s partnership. Situated in the Gulf Coast LNG corridor, the facility has a permitted capacity of 27.6 million tons per year.
Woodside, which secured the project through a $1.2 billion acquisition of Tellurian in 2024, will maintain a 60% interest and operational oversight via its Louisiana LNG holding company (HoldCo), with Stonepeak holding 40% in the infrastructure entity (InfraCo).
Stonepeak’s investment will fund 75% of the project’s capital needs in 2025 and 2026, with additional funding to follow, speeding up construction and bolstering Woodside’s liquidity ahead of its Scarborough project in Australia (first LNG slated for 2026). A long-term tolling agreement between InfraCo and HoldCo locks in competitive rates, with HoldCo handling gas supply and LNG offtake.
Stonepeak brings a robust track record in natural gas and LNG investments. Its portfolio includes Seapeak, the world’s third-largest independent LNG owner-operator, formed in 2022 after acquiring Teekay LNG Partners from its $14 billion Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund IV.
In 2023, the firm took a 50% stake in KAPS, a Canadian natural gas liquids pipeline linking Northwest Alberta to Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan energy hubs. It also backs the Pelican Pipeline, set to deliver up to 1.75 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily across 170 miles in Louisiana’s Gulf Coast, with operations expected by mid-2027.
Financial advisors to Stonepeak included Santander U.S. Capital Markets, Mizuho Bank, and Greenhill & Co., with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as transactional legal counsel and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison advising on financing. Woodside was advised by RBC Capital Markets and Evercore, with Norton Rose Fulbright as its legal counsel.
The Louisiana LNG deal emerges amid a surge in private capital activity in oil and gas this month, following a quiet start to 2025. Recently, Calgary’s Waterous Energy Fund closed its third private equity fund at C$1.4 billion ($1 billion) for Canadian oil and gas investments, while Brookfield Infrastructure Partners agreed to acquire Colonial Enterprises, owner of the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline, for about $9 billion.