Shell Energy Holdings Australia, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell, said on Monday it was selling part of its stake in Woodside Petroleum to two investment banks for about $1.7 billion.
The sale includes 71.6 million shares in Woodside for A$31.10 (US$23.79) per share.
The company said that represented 64 percent of its interest in Woodside and 8.5 percent of the issued capital in Woodside.
Upon completion of the sale, SEHAL will continue to own a 4.8 percent interest in Woodside.
Shell has sold more than $26 billion as part of its three-year, $30 billion asset sales program launched following the acquisition of BG Group in 2015.
Shell became a shareholder in Woodside following a joint investment in the North-West Shelf consortium in the early 1960s.
Shell will remain joint-venture partner in two liquefied natural gas projects in Western Australia, in the North-West Shelf and Browse Basin projects, retaining a 16.7 percent and 27 percent stake, respectively, according to Woodside.
