Shell closes sale of 26.25% stake in Queensland Curtis LNG facilities for $2.5B

Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary QGC Common Facilities Co. Pty Ltd. has closed a previously announced sale of a 26.25% stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG common facilities to Global Infrastructure Partners Australia for $2.5 billion.

Shell remains the operator and majority owner of the common facilities, with a 73.75% stake. The facilities include LNG storage tanks, jetties and operations infrastructure that service the facility's LNG trains. The deal is in line with Shell's strategy of divesting noncore assets to simplify its portfolio, the company said in a March 15 news release.

The integrated oil and gas major also said natural gas still remains a core component of its strategy and believes that the Queensland Curtis LNG venture would help Shell meet growing global LNG demand.

The deal will add to Shell's anticipated divestment proceeds and will not impact Queensland Curtis LNG's operations or staff.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. owns 50% equity in the first train of the LNG facility while Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. holds 2.5% equity in the second train.

Global Infrastructure Partners Australia is an affiliate of independent infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners Inc.