BNEF noted overnight that the journey to net-zero emissions could see market fundamentals driving gas demand to change by 2030 and that uncertainty meant infrastructure owners and operators needed to prepare - finding local LNG producers may hold an advantage over the supermajors. 

BNEF said Woodside, alongside Sempra, have the highest scores in BNEF's ranking, scoring 5.9 out of 10. 

The report points to Woodside ensuring it would target net-zero emissions from its entire Pluto LNG facility by 2050, in response to the Western Australian government making it a condition for approval of the expanded Train 2 facility. 

This is part of its Greenhouse Gas Abatement Plan, signed off by the WA government in June last year. 

However, The Conservation Council of Western Australia has argued the plan would only reduce emissions from the facility by around 2% by 2030 and does not take into account scope 3 emissions. 

It is currently engaged in a legal case against Woodside to attempt to have the project reassessed by the state's Environmental Protection Authority. 

BNEF says in its analysis that Woodside's high score is driven by the fact that Woodside itself, Australia, and Woodside's customer countries have all committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2030 "which provides the impetus needed to adopt decarbonisation initiatives". 

The report ranks Chevron, Petronas and Cheniere Energy behind its top two LNG players, while Santos ninth behind Novatek, but in front of Shell. 

BNEF notes that while Cheniere, Qatar Energy and Novatek have not announced net-zero targets, the LNG plants they operate "show a high level of transition readiness". 

"These plants benefit from largely lower-CO2 upstream gas supply and are adopting, or at least considering, various clean power solutions and carbon capture and storage (CCS)," the analysis read. 

"Chevron may have scored better than Woodside and Sempra, if it weren't for its majority stake in Angola LNG, which shows few signs of intent to decarbonise," the report notes.

BNEF highlights that its LNG rankings differ from those of its Oil and Gas transition scores, in which Shell and BP both scored highly. 

"While these oil and gas majors appear to be better prepared for a low-carbon world in terms of their wider business strategies, they are involved in LNG assets that sit lower on the transition readiness curve," it said. 

The International Energy Agency has previously warned there is a vast gap between companies and government's stated emissions reduction targets and the policy measures and capital spending plans they have put in place to achieving them.