Woodside raising A$2.5b to finance LNG projects

SYDNEY: Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, plans to raise about A$2.5 billion ($2.3 billion) in a share sale to help fund liquefied natural gas projects in Western Australia.

Stockholders can buy one new share for every 12 they own at A$42.1 each, the Perth-based company said in a statement. That's more than 10 percent below the closing price of A$47.18 on Dec 11. Woodside said largest shareholder Royal Dutch Shell Plc will acquire all the shares it's entitled to, investing A$862 million to maintain a 34.3 percent stake.

Woodside's Pluto project in Western Australia is among more than a dozen proposed LNG ventures in Australia seeking to tap Asian demand for cleaner-burning fuels. Woodside said it aims to approve a second phase at Pluto by the end of next year and a third in 2011.