The company said in a statement that it had signed a non-binding letter with Apache and Kufpec that lays out terms for negotiations on a non-exclusive sale of gas from Julimar and Brunello to the Pluto LNG Train 2 at Karratha.

It added that Train 2 options are being discussed with a number of parties in the Carnarvon Basin area.

While the news is undoubtedly positive for Woodside, it represents a bit of a U-turn for Apache, which had previously indicated it wanted to use the fields on the Julimar trend to supply the second stage of its Devil Creek domestic gas plant.

The decision to at least consider gas sales to Pluto 2 could be a sign that Apache and Kufpec believe they have enough gas for both domestic and export use or that they are simply keeping their options open.

Securing gas for Pluto 2 has been one of the areas Woodside has been focusing on for some time now, with the company saying previously it could liquefy either Woodside gas or third-party gas.

The Pluto and Xena fields are just big enough to support Pluto's first train while early attempts to find gas last year failed to make any finds.

Woodside finally received some good news this year when the first well in its 2009 gas exploration campaign in the Greater Pluto area struck a big gas find.

The Martell-1 exploration well in WA-404-P, which was drilled by the Atwood Eagle semisubmersible drilling rig, confirmed a gross gas column of about 110m and the presence of a gas-water contact.

At the company's annual general meeting earlier this month Woodside managing director Don Voelte said the find "increased the immediate case for Pluto Train 2".

Work on the first LNG train continues to make good progress with Woodside expecting about 85-90% of the work to be completed by year-end.