Taiwan's CPC said it was in talks with Woodside Petroleum to buy a stake of less than 10 per cent of the proposed Browse LNG venture.

A CPC spokesman said the state-owned oil refiner was negotiating details of a multi-year LNG supply agreement with Woodside and wanted to sign a contract this year.

CPC said in 2010 it had extended a preliminary accord to buy the fuel from the Browse venture to continue discussions aimed at completing a transaction.

Mitsui is also interested in buying a stake in the venture, a spokesman for the Japanese trading company said yesterday, but added that no decision had been reached.

_WestBusiness _reported last week that Mitsui and its partner in the Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) vehicle, Mitsubishi, had emerged as frontrunners to buy a minority share of Woodside's 46 per cent stake in the Browse venture.

Woodside confirmed last month it was assessing the potential sale of a "minority portion" of its Browse stake. It would reduce Woodside's financial exposure to a development likely to cost $35 billion.

Analysts at Citigroup estimate Woodside could get $US1.6 billion ($1.48 billion) for selling 16 per cent of Browse and cutting its interest to 30 per cent.

Woodside and CPC reached an initial accord in 2007 for the sale of as much as 3 million tonnes of LNG a year. CPC followed up two years ago by saying it wanted to acquire as much as 10 per cent of the project.

The Browse development concept, which has the backing of the WA and Federal governments, is for a 12mtpa operation based at James Price Point, north of Broome.

However, several of Woodside's Browse partners, including Chevron and BHP Billiton, opposed the James Price Point proposal and want the gas piped to the North West Shelf LNG plant, in which they are shareholders.

Such a development would significantly cut the project's cost but also delay first gas.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman has added to the uncertainty surrounding the Browse development by asking the State and Federal governments for an extension of at least six months before the partners have to make a final investment decision.