MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) May 1, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s (BBB+/Negative) announcement that it proposes to sell its minority equity share in the Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) development has no immediate rating impact. The sale is subject to joint-venture pre-emption rights, and expected proceeds are US$2 billion. If successful, it would reduce Woodside's share in Browse to about 31.3% from 46%. In our opinion, the sale to an offtaker will not only alleviate Woodside's own funding burden for Browse, but will also provide buyers with some project insight and align shareholder interests at all levels of the Browse LNG project. In addition, this initiative indicates Woodside is likely to adopt a more
