The $200 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) fresh initiatives in Australia got another boost this week as Woodside Petroleum Ltd revealed the imminent shift to full production activity of its Pluto LNG processing facility in Western Australia.

In a statement sent to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Thursday, Woodside reported that initial amount of gas had entered Pluto's processing train, signalling that the long-delayed project is all set to make deliveries in the coming weeks.

Prior to the announcement, Woodside's $15.56 billion Pluto project had been beset by strings of delays and cost blowouts, eating up another year from its target inaugural date and infusing more than $900 million as additional costs.

According to Reuters, Pluto will be the first to become operational after six years in Australia's problem-plagued LNG projects, which reportedly intends to produce some 80 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG by the end of 2020.

Three projects have been completed so far, the news agency said, further supporting Australia's quest to take the lead as the largest exporter of LNG in the years ahead.

The country, already a resource producing giant, currently enjoys the number four spot, Reuters said.

Woodside has indicated in a press statement that the first tanker filled with LNG should ship out from its facilities by late March but analysts believe that actual deliveries could commence a bit later.

"The first production of LNG will take place in the coming weeks, followed by deliveries to foundation customers and project participants Kansai Electric and Tokyo Gas," Woodside said.

UBS, however, has informed The Wall Street Journal that first deliveries coming out from the Pluto project would likely occur by middle of April or early May, with the broker citing reports of Woodside's commissioned tanker only tipped to make port visit in Australia on the given time frame.

Once fully operational, Pluto will commence deliveries of gad through pipes leading to an onshore plant with aims of producing for Woodside some 4.3 MTPA of LNG, the company said.

Pluto's total output for the year is expected to bring in about 21 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) to Woodside's production capacity for the current year, Woodside officials said.

Over the long term and after some expansion works, Pluto, according to Woodside, is projected to produce 4.3 million metric tonnes of LNG each year, eventually reaching 37 million BOE annually.

Analysts lauded Woodside for finally pushing the switch button for Pluto, which remarkably came online only more than half-a-decade when natural gas was first detected in the source.

"The project has had its setbacks but achieving first gas shipments through the facility in less than seven years from discovery remains quite an achievement," WoodMackenzie analyst Craig McMahon told Reuters.