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A Louisiana LNG Tank Rises — and Sharpens the Timing Race

A Louisiana LNG Tank Rises — and Sharpens the Timing Race

Woodside's first storage tank at its $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG terminal is now visibly under construction, on a project Woodside itself says is 28% complete — one confirmed brick in a wave of new non-Gulf supply set to reach buyers in the same years QatarEnergy is targeting for its 142-million-tonne North Field build-out.

Woodside's first 235,000-cubic-metre storage tank at Louisiana LNG is confirmed under construction, part of a project Woodside itself says is 28% complete — its own disclosure, not third-party tracking. That milestone matters for the Gulf: it advances one of several new LNG origins competing for buyers against QatarEnergy's targeted 142-million-tonne North Field capacity, due by 2030.

The Gulf Barrel Desk · 4 min read

Woodside's first LNG storage tank at its Louisiana LNG terminal is now visibly under construction in Calcasieu Parish, according to LNG Prime — a hard, physical checkpoint on a project Woodside itself says is 28% complete overall. That figure is Woodside's own disclosure, not an outside tracker's estimate, delivered via Acting Senior Vice President Rachel Archer alongside drone footage the company released, as reported by Ocean News. The milestone lands as a data point in a broader competitive picture this desk tracks: new non-Gulf LNG supply, this project among it, is being built out on a timeline that overlaps directly with QatarEnergy's own targeted expansion of North Field capacity to 142 million tonnes per year by 2030 — a collision of supply waves, not yet a verdict on who wins the buyers.

The 28% Figure, Correctly Attributed

The reported 28% completion is Woodside's own number, not an independent audit. Rachel Archer, the project's Acting SVP, said Louisiana LNG "continues to make strong progress" as construction advances toward the 2029 first-cargo target, per Ocean News's report on the company's own drone imagery; end-of-Q2 figures Woodside disclosed put Train 1 at 35% complete, Train 2 at 25%, and Train 3 at 18%. Confirmed: it is company-reported progress. Not confirmed: any independent verification of that pace.

Buyers and Feed Gas Already Locked In

Offtake and feed-gas commitments predate the tank's visible progress. Uniper holds a 1.0 mtpa sale-and-purchase agreement direct from the project. Williams Companies took a 10% stake in the project's holding company in October 2025, assuming offtake obligations for 10% of produced volumes plus the proportionate benefit of Uniper's contract — a combined 1.5 mtpa — while funding roughly $1.9 billion of capital, per Woodside's own ASX filing. Separately, bp agreed in April 2025 to supply up to 640 billion cubic feet of feed gas from 2029, per Woodside's own ASX announcement.

What It Means for the Gulf's Own Expansion Math

Louisiana LNG's 2029 target sits inside the same window QatarEnergy has set for its own build-out: North Field East and South are meant to lift Qatari nameplate capacity from roughly 77 mtpa toward a targeted 142 mtpa by 2030, QatarEnergy said when it announced the expansion. Neither timeline is guaranteed — Woodside's is a company projection tied to construction still in progress, and Qatar's phased build carries its own execution risk. If both land close to schedule, a wave of US Gulf Coast and Qatari supply reaches long-term buyers within the same few years.

The Pace Question

What to watch is whether tank and train construction keep pace with Woodside's own 28% marker toward 2029, and whether that pace holds once measured against QatarEnergy's phased North Field ramp. Confirmed: a tank is rising, contracts are signed, and both expansion programs carry an official turn-of-the-decade target. Not confirmed: that either timeline survives intact, or how a market absorbing both waves of new supply prices Gulf producers' gas against fresh American cargoes. This is analysis of confirmed and reported project data, not a trading call.

Is the 28% Louisiana LNG completion figure independently verified?
No. It is Woodside's own disclosure, delivered via Acting SVP Rachel Archer alongside drone footage the company released and credited to itself, as reported by Ocean News. There is no independent tracker cited in that reporting — it is a company-reported figure, not a third-party audit.
How does a Louisiana LNG construction milestone matter to Gulf energy producers?
Louisiana LNG's 2029 first-cargo target overlaps with the window QatarEnergy has set for lifting North Field capacity to a targeted 142 mtpa by 2030. New non-Gulf supply reaching the market in the same stretch of years sharpens competition for long-term LNG buyers — a supply-side fact this desk is sizing, not a trading call.
Who has already agreed to buy gas from, or supply gas to, the project?
Uniper holds a 1.0 mtpa offtake agreement; Williams Companies holds a proportionate share of that contract plus its own 10%-of-volumes obligation after taking a stake in the project in October 2025; and bp is contracted to supply up to 640 billion cubic feet of feed gas from 2029 — all per Woodside's own ASX filings.
  1. First Louisiana LNG tank taking shape — LNG Prime
  2. Drone Footage Captures Louisiana LNG Construction Progress At 28 Percent — Ocean News
  3. Woodside Announces Louisiana LNG Partnership With Williams — Woodside Energy Group (ASX announcement)
  4. Woodside Signs Gas Supply Agreement for Louisiana LNG — Woodside Energy Group (ASX announcement)
  5. Historic Investment: Woodside Energy Announces $17.5 Billion Final Investment Decision for LNG Facility in Southwest Louisiana — Louisiana Economic Development
  6. Qatar announces new gas output boost with mega field expansion — Al Jazeera