The handover follows completion of performance testing by OCI Global.

The 1.1 million tonne-per-year facility had been due for handover once carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology was installed. However, Woodside now expects the CCS component to come online “after 2026.”

Woodside said “construction issues” at a “third-party feedstock supply facility” caused the delay.

The facility relies on hydrogen supplied by Linde, which is also expected to manage carbon capture. Linde has agreements with ExxonMobil to transport and store captured carbon dioxide.

“In the face of current market disruptions, we remain focused on safely delivering ammonia supply to our customers,” said Woodside CEO Liz Westcott.

It remains unclear when CCS will be introduced at the Beaumont project.

 “In the longer-term we retain our goal of supporting the development of a competitive lower-carbon sector,” Westcott added.

The Australian energy major acquired the project from OCI Global in September 2024 for $2.35bn. The plant began producing grey ammonia in December 2025.

For now, the focus will be on supplying grey ammonia to customers.

The move follows a warning from Woodside that demand for low-carbon ammonia is growing more slowly than expected, with the company planning to align CCS expansion with market demand.

“While there’s interest in lower carbon ammonia, the uptake in demand is slower than we had forecast,” she told investors during Woodside’s Q4 2025 results.

Along the US Gulf Coast, various blue ammonia plants are under or nearing construction, with offtakers lined up across Europe and Asia.

Due to the region’s access to low-cost natural gas and geologic suitability for CCS, proponents claim the area can produce some of the lowest-cost blue hydrogen.

The US also offers tax credits of up to $85 per tonne of CO2 captured and stored or used in industry.