Apache Corp. is seeking to sell its 12% stake in the Wheatstone LNG project in a bid to reduce net debt, according to the news agency Bloomberg. Last year Apache Corp. sold assets worth just under US$ 10 billion in the Gulf of Mexico, Argentina and Egypt (Bloomberg data) in order to curb an US$ 8 billion debt.
Now, the company is holding nascent discussions with potential buyers over the sale of its interests in the Wheatstone LNG project, which will supply Asian markets with LNG from its 8.9 million tpa facility as of 2016.
Western Australia’s AU29 billion Wheatstone LNG project is owned by a consortium of Chevron (64%), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) (13%), Apache Corp. (13%), and TEPCO (8%).
Apache has a 65% interest in the Julimar and Brunello offshore fields. This will supply the Wheatstone project with gas.
Edited from various sources by Ted Monroe