Shell has agreed to sell its stake in one of Australia's largest liquefied natural gas projects to Abu Dhabi's XRG for $1.45 billion. Shell announced the deal on Tuesday 3 November 2026, saying it will sell its 16.67% non-operated interest in the North West Shelf project in Western Australia.

The buyer is a group of wholly owned subsidiaries of XRG PJSC, the international energy investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC. The base price is $1.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments, plus an additional payment linked to future milestones. XRG will also take on the decommissioning obligations attached to Shell's interest.

The transaction has an effective date of 1 January 2026 and is expected to complete in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

For XRG, the deal is its first investment in Australia and its first asset in the country's gas sector. The North West Shelf project is one of Australia's biggest LNG export facilities, with liquefaction capacity of 14.3 million tonnes a year, according to XRG. It is operated by Woodside Energy and comprises a group of interconnected joint ventures involving Woodside, Chevron, BP, Shell, MIMI and CNOOC.

For Shell, the sale exits a non-operated stake in a mature project, freeing capital as the company concentrates on other natural gas opportunities. The deal comes as ADNOC's investment arm continues to build an international gas portfolio, with Australia now added to its holdings.