Australia-China row upset Woodside talks to sell gas project stake to Chinese firms

"They advised us a couple of months ago that they were just not able to proceed at this point due to the relations between China and Australia," Coleman said. "So we're a little frustrated and disappointed by that.

Woodside Petroleum shelved talks to sell stakes in a gas field and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Chinese companies a few months ago because of the diplomatic row between Australia and China, the company's chief executive said on Thursday. Chief Executive Peter Coleman said he hopes to revive the talks when the spat subsides.

Woodside had been negotiating with China's national oil companies, including PetroChina Co, and second-tier companies to sell a "modest" stake in the linked Scarborough gas field and Pluto LNG Train 2 project, which would have included some gas sales. "They advised us a couple of months ago that they were just not able to proceed at this point due to the relations between China and Australia," Coleman said.

"So we're a little frustrated and disappointed by that. But we're hopeful that things will improve and we'll be able to get them back to the table," he told Reuters in an interview.

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