NEW YORK, March 26, 2026, 17:28 EDT
Woodside Energy Group’s U.S.-listed shares were up about 0.7% at $23.82 in late Thursday dealings after the Australian producer said it had taken operational control of the Beaumont New Ammonia facility in Texas from OCI Global. Reuters-delayed data put the Sydney-listed stock at A$34.24, up 1.8%, earlier in the day. 1
That matters now for a simple reason. Liz Westcott only got the top job last week, and Beaumont is one of the first operating markers under her watch as Woodside moves through a heavy project slate. 2
Then there is the commodity backdrop. Brent settled at $108.01 a barrel on Thursday, while Asian liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have jumped 143% since Feb. 28 as war-related disruption hit Qatar and the Strait of Hormuz, tightening supply and lifting the appeal of exporters outside the Gulf. 3
Beaumont itself is not small. Woodside put the plant’s capacity at up to 1.1 million tonnes of ammonia a year, said output began in December, and said it had already signed offtake agreements — advance sales contracts — at prevailing market prices for conventional supply. 4
The snag is the lower-carbon stream. At a briefing this month, Westcott said demand still looked strong but was “slower to build up”, and that third-party feedstock work needed for lower-carbon supply was running behind schedule. 5
That split has fed the stock story too. Reuters reported Woodside, Santos and Norway’s Equinor have outperformed broader energy indices as investors buy Western gas suppliers, while U.S. exporter Cheniere has rallied harder. 6
Sector analysts are leaning into the near-term earnings case if prices hold here. “The first quarter is going to be phenomenal for these companies,” Leo Mariani, senior research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, said of big energy producers. 7
But the cleaner bull case has cracks. Woodside flagged a softer 2026 production outlook in January, and Reuters has also warned LNG shares could turn volatile after the latest run even if the market stays tight. 8
Louisiana LNG remains another pressure point. Westcott has called it a priority, and last month Woodside disclosed it was in talks to sell another 20% stake in the project, a move Tim Waterer at KCM Trade called a “smart way” to monetise the asset while easing balance-sheet pressure. 9
