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Woodside mulls acquisition opportunities

FINANCE & AUSTRALIA’S Woodside Petroleum has said analysts. “We’re clearly scanning the landscape
INVESTMENT it is looking to acquire distressed oil and gas very closely looking for opportunities.”
assets after reporting a 28% slide in its first-half Woodside said in June that it was interested
adjusted profit. in Chevron’s planned sale of its one-sixth stake
Woodside said its underlying net profit in the North West Shelf (NWS) liquefied natural
amounted to $303mn in the first six months of gas (LNG) project. Woodside operates the pro-
the year, down from the $419mn it reported in ject, in which BHP, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and a
the same period of 2019. joint venture consisting of Japan’s Mitsubishi and
The company reported a half-year net loss of Mitsui & Co are also partners.
$4.07bn as a result of a post-tax impairment loss The NWS partners signed an initial deal
of $3.92bn that it announced on July 14. in 2018 on processing gas from Woodside’s
Production climbed to a record 50.1mn bar- Browse development under a tolling agree-
rels of oil equivalent from 39mn boe in the same ment, but there has been no sign of a final deal
period of 2019. Lower oil and gas prices, how- on that front, with repeated reports of mount-
ever, saw operating revenue decline to $1.91bn ing friction between the partners. Indicative
from $2.26bn a year earlier. bids for the NWS project are due by the end
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said his com- of this year.
pany was interested in either projects close to Woodside is also weighing up whether to
existing assets or stakes in fields that were close exercise its right to match Lukoil’s $400mn offer
to or in production. for Cairn Energy’s 40% stake in the Rufisque,
While noting that the conditions created by Sangomar and Sangomar Deep (RSSD) project
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and off Senegal. If Woodside does pre-empt the sale
the global oil and gas oversupply were the most its stake will climb from 35% to 75%.
difficult “I’ve seen in nearly four decades in the Coleman told Reuters that his company was
industry”, Coleman was upbeat about the future. also seeking legal advice on whether Lukoil’s par-
“We’re optimistic that the worst of the sup- ticipation in the project could expose the part-
ply and demand shocks are behind us,” he told ners to US sanctions against Russia.™

Neptune eyes Eni’s Australian assets

FINANCE & NEPTUNE Energy is reportedly the latest party Development Area in the Timor Sea and the
INVESTMENT to express interest in buying Italian major Eni’s undeveloped Evans Shoal gas field, which could
Australian oil and gas portfolio. be a potential backfill for Darwin LNG.
Neptune will join Macquarie Capital and Reports emerged in May that the Italian
Beach Energy as frontrunners in the chase to major wanted to sell its Australian assets to raise
secure the assets, local daily The Australian cash amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) driven
reported on August 6, noting that other poten- global economic downturn, which has seen
tial suitors included Santos, Cooper Energy and international oil and gas prices collapse.
a range of infrastructure investors. Eni is understood to be working with invest-
Eni’s prized assets include a 10.99% stake ment bank Citi on the sale, which is to be held
in Darwin LNG and the plant’s feedstock field over two round and is expected to raise an esti-
Bayu-Undan and its wholly owned Blacktip mated $700-900mn. Blacktip is understood to
natural gas field and attached Yelcherr process- account for the bulk of this valuation, given that
ing plant. Eni also owns stakes in four explo- the field has a long-term gas supply agreement
ration licences, including the Joint Petroleum with domestic buyers.

Week 32 13•August•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P9