Woodside Energy Group, Australiaโs biggest oil and gas producer, said first-half profit soared more than fivefold on the back of higher prices and the takeover of BHP Groupโs energy assets.
More merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities are expected to hit the market in Asia Pacific, as international oil companies (IOCs) continue to rationalise their portfolios, and ESG concerns trigger further divestments. This will help to unlock the deal flow in APAC, but potential acquirers could struggle to secure necessary finance without a strong ESG narrative.
Woodside Energy and BHP have completed the merger of Woodside with BHPโs oil and gas portfolio to create one of the worldโs largest energy producers.
Woodside Petroleum almost certainly won investor approval to boost global oil and gas production by adding BHP Group assets while also facing a rebuke on its climate accounting.
The merger between Woodside and BHPโs entire petroleum business will see the combined decommissioning costs for the new super independent hit $6.7 billion over the next 30 years, according to Woodsideโs prospectus filed to the London Stock Exchange this week.
Woodside (ASX:WPL) chief executive Meg OโNeill has appointed several top BHP (ASX:BHP) executives into her new leadership team for the mega-merger that will establish one of the worldโs top independent oil and gas companies.
Results from the highly anticipated Buffalo-10 well drilled by Carnarvon Energy (ASX:CVN) and Advance Energy (LON:ADV) offshore East Timor have disappointed. Drilling at the redevelopment project was targeting a potential oil bonanza, which now seems unlikely.
Australiaโs Woodside (ASX:WPL) and BHP Group (ASX:BHP) today signed a binding share sale agreement for the merger of BHPโs oil and gas portfolio with Woodside.
Woodside (ASX:WPL) has taken a final investment decision (FID) on the giant $12 billion Scarborough and Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia.
The Conservation Council of Western Australia says the proposed Woodside-led Scarborough liquefied natural gas (LNG) project could contravene federal environmental protection laws, reported the Australian Financial Review.
It was supposed to be a big win for climate activists: another of the worldโs most powerful mining companies had caved to investor demands that it stop digging up coal.
BHP Group will transfer some $3.9 billion worth of oil and gas decommissioning liabilities to Woodside if the pairโs merger goes through successfully. The liability is much smaller than expected helping to ease investor concerns at Woodside.
Australiaโs offshore environment and safety regulator NOPSEMA has ordered BHP to clean up three offshore fields following years of โlimited actionโ and equipment sinking to the seabed, reported BoilingCold. This will add to the decommissioning burden Woodside will inherit if it absorbs BHPโs oil and gas assets as part of a deal announced last month.
A strategic merger between BHP and Woodside has been on the deal dream list in oil and gas circles going back three decades. Yesterday the pair confirmed that they will enter into a merger of their respective oil and gas portfolios in an all-stock deal that creates an LNG powerhouse.
Woodside and BHP today confirmed a mega-merger deal that will establish one of the worldโs top independent oil and gas companies. Woodside said it would issue new shares to BHP shareholders in exchange for the mining giantโs petroleum business.
Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said today that a binding merger deed with Oil Search should be signed next month. The merger would make the combined companies one of the largest in the region and in the top 20 globally.
Woodside today confirmed it is in discussions with BHP over a potential merger involving BHPโs entire petroleum business. This merger โwould create a new international super independent built for scale and resilience, with a long-term focus on LNG but exposure in the medium term to high-margin, deepwater oil,โ said Andrew Harwood, Asia Pacific research director at Wood Mackenzie.
Woodside is in advanced talks to buy BHP Groupโs petroleum division for about A$20 billion ($14.7 billion), the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
BHP Group is considering getting out of oil and gas in a multibillion-dollar exit that would accelerate its retreat from fossil fuels, according to people familiar with the matter.
Santos is seeking buyers for a share in its $2 billion Dorado oil project offshore Western Australia and energy consultancy Rystad Energy expects BHP will be looking closely at the asset.
Australia is on the verge of its largest-ever wave of decommissioning as offshore development wells reach the end of their producing life. This is both adding headaches for producers and creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity for plugging and abandonment (P&A) suppliers.
East Timor could pocket just over $600 million if the Buffalo-10 exploration well, due to be drilled late October, is successful. The operator, Australiaโs Carnarvon Petroleum, as well as UK partner Advance Energy, said yesterday that they have secured a jack-up drilling rig for the probe at the historic Buffalo field offshore East Timor.