Chevron Australia will sell its 16.6% interest in the North West Shelf gas project off Western Australia.
The company said the move follows a number of unsolicited approaches from credible buyers, although it declined to name the suitors or mention a likely sale price.
Chevron said, however, that it remained committed to Australia through its operatorship and lead role in the Gorgon-Jansz and Wheatstone projects with the associated LNG facilities on Barrow Island and Onslow, respectively.
Chevron is a founding member of the $34 billion (Aus.) NW Shelf project which has been on stream for 30 years and is operated by Woodside Petroleum.
More recently the NW Shelf project has begun to shift its focus towards becoming a third-party tolling facility and Chevron believes the time is right to consider proposals from potential buyers for its interest.
Woodside, in particular, is keen to funnel production from other offshore Western Australian projects like the proposed Scarborough and Browse gas development as backfill through the NW Shelf plants on the Burrup Peninsula as the main NW Shelf fields (Goodwyn, North Rankin, Angel) are depleted.
Chevron holds no interests in either Scarborough or Browse, making terms under which gas from Browse in particular can be processed through the Burrup plants more difficult to negotiate.
The other equal one-sixth interest holders in the NW Shelf project are Woodside, BP, BHP, Shell, and Japan Australia LNG (Mitsui and Mitsubishi).