BP sells another stake in Australia’s $35 billion gas project
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BP has agreed to sell a 5% interest in Australia’s Browse gas project to Osaka Gas, bringing another Asian energy buyer into one of the country’s largest undeveloped offshore gas resources.
Osaka Gas announced the agreement on Sept. 18. Its Australian business will invest through Osaka Gas Browse Pty Ltd, which is also expected to receive backing from the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, known as JOGMEC.
The acquisition remains subject to regulatory and Browse joint venture approvals.
The deal is part of a wider change in the ownership of Browse. Following completion of related transactions, Woodside would hold 41.27% of the project, BP 34.33%, Japan Australia LNG 14.4%, GS Energy 5% and Osaka Gas 5%.
The transactions leave BP with a substantial position in Browse, but reduce its exposure while giving major Asian LNG buyers direct stakes in the upstream project.
Browse remains at the pre-front-end engineering and design stage, so a final investment decision has not been made. The ownership changes therefore come as the partners continue to assess whether the development can become a commercially viable source of LNG.
Asian buyers are taking a more direct role in LNG supply
For Osaka Gas, the transaction offers both an equity position and access to future LNG supply.
The company expects to receive about 550,000 tonnes of LNG each year if Browse enters production, with most of that volume intended for direct import into Japan. JOGMEC plans to provide equity financing covering as much as 50% of eligible project costs.
The link between upstream ownership and future supply helps explain the wider importance of the deal.
Japan remains heavily dependent on imported energy. Australia offers several advantages for Japanese LNG buyers, including political stability, geographic proximity and shipping routes that avoid some major maritime chokepoints.
The Browse transaction shows how some Asian utilities are seeking more direct involvement in their supply chains. Rather than relying only on long-term LNG purchase contracts, upstream ownership gives buyers exposure to the resource and its future production.
The proposed ownership structure also includes South Korea’s GS Energy. Together, GS Energy and Osaka Gas would hold 10% of Browse if the related transactions are completed.
For BP, the sales reduce its capital exposure without requiring it to leave the development. For Browse, the arrival of companies with a direct interest in future LNG supply could help bring upstream investment and downstream demand closer together.
That does not remove the financial risks associated with a large gas development. However, it increases the number of companies with a commercial interest in moving Browse toward production.
Browse could support existing Australian LNG infrastructure
Browse is based on the Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa gas fields, about 425 kilometers north of Broome in Western Australia. Woodside describes it as Australia’s largest undeveloped offshore gas resource.
The current development concept would connect the fields to existing North West Shelf infrastructure rather than require construction of a separate LNG export plant.
Woodside puts planned project capacity at 11.4 million tonnes per year across LNG, liquefied petroleum gas and domestic gas. Earlier development plans included two floating production facilities and a pipeline of about 900 kilometers connecting Browse with North West Shelf infrastructure.
Using existing infrastructure could improve the commercial case for the project.
Large new LNG plants require substantial upfront investment and can take years to develop. Processing Browse gas through established facilities offers another approach by using existing assets alongside a new source of supply.
It could also extend the productive life of the North West Shelf system as output from its original gas fields declines.
For Woodside and its partners, the value of Browse therefore extends beyond the offshore resource. It also depends on how efficiently the gas can be connected to infrastructure already operating in Western Australia.
New investors do not remove the hurdles facing Browse
The latest investment adds another source of commercial support for Browse, but the project still has several stages to complete.
Browse remains at the pre-FEED stage, while environmental assessments continue at state and Commonwealth levels.
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority has been assessing the state waters component of the proposal, including infrastructure linked to extraction from the Torosa reservoir.
In August 2025, the EPA accepted amendments to the proposal following public consultation that generated more than 17,700 submissions.
These processes show the distance that can remain between attracting investors and approving a development.
Browse has a large resource base, potential access to existing LNG infrastructure and growing participation from Asian buyers. It also faces the engineering, environmental, commercial and regulatory requirements associated with a development of this size.
The Osaka Gas transaction does not settle those issues. It does show how the ownership model around Browse is changing.
Asian companies that could eventually consume its LNG are taking direct positions in the resource, while existing partners reduce or reshape their exposure. That shift could become more important as Browse approaches its next engineering and investment decisions.
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