Woodside Energy has not ruled out exercising its pre-emption rights to block BP’s planned sale of a 5% stake in the Browse joint venture to Japanese utility Osaka Gas, raising the prospect of a second pre-emption exercise at Australia’s largest undeveloped gas project within months.
The development, reported by Upstream Online today, comes after Woodside already exercised its pre-emption rights in June 2026 to acquire PetroChina’s 10.67% stake in Browse rather than allow it to pass to Inpex, taking its own interest to 41.27%. That decision was driven by concerns that Inpex, if it acquired the stake, might push for a development scenario linking Browse to its Ichthys LNG project in Darwin rather than Woodside’s preferred option of using its existing Karratha Gas Plant in Western Australia, known as the Browse to North West Shelf concept.
BP announced on 20 September 2026 that it had agreed to sell a 5% stake in Browse to Osaka Gas Browse, a vehicle jointly funded by Osaka Gas Australia and the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security. The transaction, if completed, would give Osaka Gas 550,000 tonnes per year of equity LNG alongside associated LPG and domestic gas, and would mark the Japanese utility’s debut in the Browse joint venture. Osaka Gas president and CEO Masataka Fujiwara said the deal marked an important step toward strengthening the company’s strategic partnership with BP and Woodside.
If BP’s deal with Osaka Gas completes without pre-emption, the Browse joint venture partners would stand as Woodside on 41.27%, BP on 39.33%, Japan Australia LNG on 14.4% and Osaka Gas on 5%. If Woodside exercises pre-emption again, it would absorb the 5% stake itself, lifting its interest further and leaving BP as the minority non-operating partner with the largest single stake behind the operator.
The Browse project comprises the undeveloped Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa gas fields offshore Western Australia, with potential production of approximately 11 million tonnes per annum of LNG at plateau. The project is progressing toward a front-end engineering and design phase and incorporates a carbon capture and storage component. BP has been reducing its Browse exposure as part of a broader portfolio rationalisation under CEO Meg O’Neill, having previously sold a 5% interest to GS Energy of South Korea, a deal that was itself subject to joint venture partner review before proceeding.
Woodside CEO Liz Westcott said when the company exercised its first pre-emption in June that the level of interest in Browse from multiple parties reinforced the quality and scale of the resource and that Woodside’s pre-emption reflected its commitment to progressing Browse to a final investment decision under its preferred development concept.
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