The Australian oil and gas firm said in its Q3 results Train 1 of its Beaumont New Ammonia Project was 97% complete, with key systems already operational.

This puts it on track to commence unabated ammonia production before the end of 2025, said CEO Meg O’Neill

The plant will use autothermal reforming to split natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Built by Linde, the hydrogen plant will be equipped with carbon capture technology.

From 2026, the plant is expected to be connected to ExxonMobil’s carbon capture and storage facility, which Woodside said could reduce the plant’s CO2 emissions by 95%.

Woodside acquired the project from OCI in 2024 for $2.35bn, with the remaining 20% of the buy expected to be paid once the entire facility is operational.

However, the update follows a wider backtrack on green hydrogen from the oil and gas firm.

In 2024, it withdrew an environmental permit for a planned 300MW green hydrogen plant in Tasmania and then cancelled its 60-tonne-per-day facility in Oklahoma earlier this year.

In the case of Oklahoma, the firm logged a $140m pre-tax impairment loss, after citing low demand and high costs as motives behind the scrapping.