Western Australia opposes a possible Exxon acquisition of Woodside Energy
Roger Cook, Premier of the State, said that on Sunday, the West Australian government would try to prevent a takeover by Woodside Energy which involved moving its headquarters.
Woodside has led the development of Australia's Liquefied Natural Gas industry since 1990.
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that ExxonMobil, a U.S. energy giant, is looking at targets including Woodside. However, it stated internal discussions are still in an early phase.
A Woodside spokesperson declined comment. Exxon Australia has not responded to a comment request.
Cook, in an email to? On Sunday, Cook said that the WA government would "fight hard" to keep Woodside Western Australian.
"Overseas interest have tried to acquire Woodside in the past and the reasons for its previous defeat have not changed."
The final decision is made by the Australian government, via the Foreign Investment Review Board (under the supervision of the Treasurer).
The West Australian government, however, successfully resisted a takeover bid by Shell in 2001, who was a major shareholder at the time. Woodside shares rose 8.35% on the secondary market in the United States after the first takeover report since that failed bid. On Friday, Woodside listed on the U.S.
Exxon is a major player in the Australian gas industry, especially on the east coast where Woodside, its partner, has been active for many years. It holds 25% of the West Australia Gorgon LNG Project, which is?operated? by Chevron.
Woodside's acquisition would allow the U.S. company to expand its LNG footprint, and gain greater access into high-demand Asian markets. Woodside is looking to develop Browse, Australia’s largest undeveloped gas field, for the North West Shelf LNG Plant, which it runs. The?project, estimated at $35 billion, will be a $35 billion?project. Woodside, the Australian company that runs the Browse project, preempted PetroChina from selling its 10.67% stake in the Browse field to Japan's Inpex on Friday. This gave the Australian firm a close to 42% share in the project. Helen Clark, Barbara Lewis and Barbara Lewis edited this report.
(source: Reuters)
