Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a US$1 billion loan agreement with Woodside Finance Limited, a financial subsidiary of Woodside Energy Group, to develop a gas field in Western Australia. The loan will sit alongside a US$450 million facility from private financial institutions.

The funding will assist Woodside in developing the Scarborough Energy Project, located in the Carnarvon Basin, approximately 375 kilometres off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia.

The signing of the JBIC loan follows an agreement signed in March by JERA Scarborough, an Australian company through which Tokyo-based JERA will acquire a 15.1% participation interest in the Scarborough joint venture.

JERA has also signed up to receive up to about 1.2 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas, equivalent to its equity interest in the project.

The loan will contribute towards securing long-term stable supply of LNG, which is an important energy resource for Japan, JBIC says.

The bank also established a framework with Woodside to create further opportunities for supplying LNG to Japan during winter, and when the supply and demand balance for LNG is tight.

Woodside has been supplying LNG to Japan for 35 years. In November 2022, JBIC signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a comprehensive strategic partnership with Woodside that aims to secure a stable supply of energy and promote cooperation in the field of decarbonization.