UPDATE 2-Woodside LNG price rise may prompt others to follow

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By Fayen Wong and Bruce Nichols

SYDNEY/HOUSTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Woodside Petroleum Ltd's (WPL.AX) move to raise liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices to Japanese buyers may signal similar increases by other oil and gas suppliers, analysts said on Friday.

Woodside said on Thursday that it and its partners in the A$20 billion ($17.4 billion) North West Shelf LNG venture off Australia had agreed with customers on a provisional price increase for contracts agreed before 2006.

The increase could mean that other LNG sellers in Malaysia or Indonesia, which may have remaining long-term LNG contracts with Japanese and Korean buyers, would also push for higher prices, pinching profits at the north Asian utilities.

"We're watching this closely to see how many other long-term contracts are susceptible ... there could be a wider market impact," said Stacy Nieuwoudt, resource analyst at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co Securities Inc, in a research note.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T), Chubu Electric Power Co (9502.T) and Osaka Gas Co (9532.T) are among the North West Shelf venture customers in Japan, the world's largest LNG buyer.

The global market in LNG, which is gas cooled to liquid form for transport by tanker, is split into three regions -- Asia, North America and Europe.

LNG prices in Asia are tied to the Japan crude cocktail benchmark, or the average price for customs-cleared crude oil imports.