Meta description: Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS; NYSE: WDS) is in focus as investors weigh LNG project execution, U.S. expansion moves, industrial action risks, and shifting analyst targets. Here’s the latest news and forecasts as of Dec. 12, 2025.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd stock is back in the spotlight on Dec. 12, 2025, and not for just one reason. Investors are juggling a very Woodside-flavored cocktail: big LNG growth plans, U.S. expansion headlines, labour risk at a flagship Australian project, and a sustainability narrative that now overlaps with cultural heritage and regulatory certainty.
Below is a clear, publication-ready rundown of the most material developments, plus what current analyst forecasts are implying for Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS; NYSE: WDS) heading into 2026. [1]
Woodside share price today: ASX and NYSE snapshots
On the U.S. listing, Woodside Energy (NYSE: WDS) was recently indicated around $16.38 (USD).
On the Australian listing, Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) was last shown around A$24.7 with recent daily closes in the A$24.6–A$24.9 range (based on the latest available trading-day records in that feed). [2]
Important nuance for readers: NYSE: WDS trades as American Depositary Shares (ADS/ADR form), while ASX: WDS is the primary ordinary share listing, so targets and valuation ranges are often quoted in different currencies and “per-share” units depending on the venue. [3]
The 3 biggest drivers behind Woodside stock coverage this week
1) Labour risk: strike action threat at Pluto LNG 2
One of the most immediate “this could hit the schedule” risks comes from Woodside’s Pluto LNG 2 expansion in Western Australia.
Reuters reported that 99% of Offshore Alliance members voted to strike, and around 400 Electrical Trades Union members also voted at close to 99% for protected industrial action. The key issue: pay negotiations linked to the construction contractor (Bechtel). Reuters noted the Offshore Alliance is seeking a 30% pay rise, arguing workers are being paid materially less than counterparts on Chevron’s Wheatstone project. [4]
Why markets care: Pluto LNG 2 is described as a 5-million-metric-ton expansion of an existing facility, and Reuters noted Woodside is targeting a first LNG cargo in the second half of 2026. Any disruption that pushes timelines or costs tends to get priced fast in LNG names, because the math is brutally sensitive to schedule. [5]
2) U.S. expansion: Woodside appears among top bidders in Gulf of Mexico lease sale
Woodside’s North America footprint has become a recurring theme—especially as the company pursues growth beyond Australia.
In a U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil and gas auction recap, Reuters cited BOEM data showing the biggest high bid totals included Australia’s Woodside with $38 million, alongside majors like BP and Chevron. [6]
This doesn’t instantly translate to production, of course—but it reinforces the story that Woodside is behaving like a company building optionality in multiple basins and jurisdictions, which can matter when investors are weighing Australian regulatory friction versus overseas growth runways.
3) Greater Sunrise: geopolitics, timelines, and project design questions return
Woodside is also tied to the long-running Greater Sunrise gas development story with Timor-Leste (East Timor)—a project that has spent decades in the “strategic, complicated, not-dead-yet” category.
Reuters reported Timor-Leste’s president expressed confidence that improved trust could help unlock progress, and noted the Greater Sunrise fields contain an estimated 5.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. The report also highlighted that a recent agreement forecast gas production between 2032–2035—notable because it’s one of the first times a timeline has been publicly attached by both parties. [7]
Reuters also relayed an analyst estimate that an onshore Timor-Leste LNG plant could cost about $5 billion more than piping gas to Darwin—exactly the kind of delta that can reshape returns, partners, and political will. [8]
Sustainability and “licence to operate”: Murujuga UNESCO listing takes center stage
In early December, Woodside ran an investor sustainability session focused on the Murujuga Cultural Landscape (Burrup Peninsula) after UNESCO’s World Heritage listing decision.
From Woodside’s released transcript, executives described sustainability as embedded in strategy, and highlighted Indigenous cultural heritage as a core material area alongside climate and biodiversity. The company also described Murujuga as holding more than a million recorded petroglyphs and emphasized that UNESCO inscribed the landscape in July 2025, recognizing multiple “Outstanding Universal Values.” [9]
Two points in that session are particularly investable (in the sense that they map to risk and approvals):
- Woodside described working with Traditional Custodians on independent inspections of rock art and cultural sites annually within its lease areas, and referenced the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP). [10]
- Executives said the World Heritage listing provides “greater certainty” and formalises requirements for continued emissions monitoring beyond MRAMP (which the transcript notes is due to conclude in 2026), plus ongoing management plans and government reporting. [11]
The subtext: this is about more than corporate virtue statements. It’s a narrative about whether major projects can move through approvals, avoid stop-start political risk, and keep operating without escalating conflict.
That conflict risk is not theoretical. An Australian media report this week described international Indigenous opposition linking Canadian First Nations leaders with campaigns opposing Woodside’s developments around Murujuga and North West Shelf expansion debates. [12]
Company outlook: production guidance and the “2032 growth” pitch
Woodside has been explicit that it’s trying to sell investors a long-cycle growth story, not just a spot-commodity trade.
2025 production range and operational drivers
In an earlier 2025 update, Reuters reported Woodside raised its full-year production forecast to 192–197 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) (from 188–195 mmboe), citing strong performance at Sangomar and reliability at Pluto LNG and the North West Shelf. [13]
Capital Markets Day: sales growth and cash-flow ambition
At Capital Markets Day, Reuters reported Woodside expects its sales of oil and gas to climb by 50% by 2032, to around 300 million boe per year, up from 203.5 million boe in 2024, and said the company is aiming for $9 billion in free cash flow by 2032. [14]
Woodside’s own Capital Markets Day materials also described an expectation that net operating cash could rise to around US$9 billion by the early 2030s, alongside a “pathway” to a 50% increase in dividend per share from 2032. [15]
Key growth projects repeatedly cited in that messaging include:
- Louisiana LNG in the U.S. (with expansion phases discussed publicly) [16]
- Scarborough (Australia) [17]
- Trion (Mexico) [18]
A big strategic tell from Reuters’ Capital Markets Day coverage: Woodside argued that despite forecasts suggesting LNG overcapacity later this decade, it has continued to sign LNG contracts through 2030 and sees market demand as “elastic.” [19]
Louisiana LNG financing and partners: the “de-risking” theme
If Woodside has a signature move right now, it’s this: build a globally scaled LNG platform while selling down stakes to control balance-sheet stress.
Earlier in 2025, Reuters reported Stonepeak would acquire a 40% stake in Woodside’s Louisiana LNG project, contributing $5.7 billion in capital expenditure toward foundation development (with Woodside aiming to reduce its stake toward ~50% over time). [20]
More recently, Reuters reported Woodside brought in Williams as an investor and pipeline operator for the Louisiana LNG venture, including a 10% stake and a construction funding commitment (alongside pipeline ownership/operator arrangements). [21]
This matters for the stock because LNG megaprojects tend to get punished when they look underfunded or overly equity-hungry. Partnering is one way to make the risk more digestible for public-market shareholders.
Analyst forecasts for Woodside stock: targets, ratings, and what they imply
Analyst views are mixed-to-moderately constructive in the aggregate, but the range of targets tells you the market is still debating execution risk and commodity-price assumptions.
U.S.-listed targets (NYSE: WDS / ADR form)
MarketScreener’s snapshot shows:
- Mean consensus: Outperform
- Analysts: 15
- Average target price: $18.13 (USD)
- Last close price shown there: $16.50 (USD) [22]
MarketWatch’s published analyst-estimates panel (ADR) also showed an average target around $17.60 (USD) with a range of targets displayed. [23]
Australia-listed targets (ASX: WDS, AUD)
Investing.com’s consensus estimates page displayed:
- 15 analysts
- Average target: A$27.32
- Target range shown: roughly A$23 to A$44
- Stated consensus rating: “Buy”, with a split of Buys vs Holds shown on the page [24]
On the Australian broker-monitoring side, FNArena summarized that among the brokers it tracks closely, Woodside had more Holds than Buys, and referenced a broker-consensus target around A$25.78 (at that time). [25]
Why the target dispersion is so wide
The spread comes down to a few “if-and-only-if” variables:
- Can Woodside deliver major projects on time and on budget (Scarborough, Pluto 2, Louisiana LNG phases)? [26]
- Does LNG pricing remain supportive, particularly as new supply enters later this decade? [27]
- How quickly do regulatory and cultural heritage constraints reshape approvals and operating conditions in Australia? [28]
Macro tailwinds: gas demand, LNG exports, and the “golden age” narrative
Woodside is not a pure-play U.S. gas producer, but broader gas-market sentiment can still influence LNG equities—especially when investors start talking about structural demand.
Investor’s Business Daily recently highlighted U.S. natural gas rising to around $5 per million Btu, framing drivers such as winter demand, LNG exports, and power needs from data centers. [29]
Woodside’s own strategy messaging leans into that long-cycle demand outlook—particularly Asia-linked demand—while simultaneously emphasizing contract coverage and project sequencing. [30]
What to watch next: catalysts and risks heading into 2026
Here are the most likely near-to-mid-term swing factors for WDS stock as of Dec. 12, 2025:
- Industrial action outcomes at Pluto LNG 2 and any knock-on schedule/cost implications. [31]
- Further clarity on sustainability monitoring and approvals tied to Murujuga and North West Shelf-related oversight (including post-MRAMP monitoring expectations). [32]
- Updates on Woodside’s 2030–2032 financial targets, especially anything that changes the implied dividend pathway. [33]
- Additional Louisiana LNG sell-downs/partners, since capital structure remains central to the valuation debate. [34]
- Greater Sunrise milestones (or setbacks) as fiscal, legal, and technical design questions resurface. [35]
Bottom line
As of Dec. 12, 2025, Woodside Energy Group Ltd stock is being pulled by two competing forces:
- a credible long-term LNG growth blueprint (with explicit 2032 volume and cash-flow ambitions), and
- classic execution and stakeholder risks—labour disruption, regulatory complexity, and high scrutiny on cultural heritage and environmental oversight. [36]
For Google News and Discover readers, the most honest summary is this: Woodside isn’t trading on a single headline—it’s trading on whether it can turn a global LNG expansion plan into delivered cash flow without getting kneecapped by delays, cost inflation, or approvals risk.
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.intelligentinvestor.com.au, 3. www.woodside.com, 4. www.reuters.com, 5. www.reuters.com, 6. www.reuters.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.woodside.com, 10. www.woodside.com, 11. www.woodside.com, 12. www.theaustralian.com.au, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.woodside.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.reuters.com, 18. www.reuters.com, 19. www.reuters.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.reuters.com, 22. www.marketscreener.com, 23. www.marketwatch.com, 24. www.investing.com, 25. fnarena.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.reuters.com, 28. www.woodside.com, 29. www.investors.com, 30. www.reuters.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.woodside.com, 33. www.woodside.com, 34. www.reuters.com, 35. www.reuters.com, 36. www.reuters.com
