Woodside Targets Infrastructure Asset Sales to Raise Funds for Scarborough

Shruti Sonal
Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Australia's Woodside [Energy] has changed tack on plans to sell assets to help fund its $11 billion Scarborough gas project, now targeting infrastructure investors instead of energy companies amid a slump in oil and gas prices.

Woodside said on Wednesday it remains committed to developing its Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 liquefied natural gas project, on track for a final investment decision in the second half of 2021 and aiming for a first cargo in 2026.

Chief Executive Peter Coleman said the sales of a 50% stake in Pluto Train 2, stakes in other infrastructure, and a stake in its Sangomar oil project in Senegal would help Woodside avoid having to sell new shares to fund its projects.

"In our view, we're working down a path where the likelihood of raising equity gets smaller and smaller," Coleman told investors at an online briefing.

Last year it had sounded out major oil companies to buy part of its 75% stake in Scarborough to raise funds, but due to the oil and gas price crash this year, that no longer makes sense, Coleman said.

"It's just simply not a good time in the market to sell that," Coleman said.

Instead, it now wants to sell around a 50% stake in Pluto Train 2 to infrastructure investors.

Coleman said he was confident Woodside will be able to go ahead with the Scarborough project without lining up buyers for the LNG, unlike in the past, when it would seal deals for 80% of a project's LNG volumes before a final decision.

"We're not going to be rushing out trying to secure deals at the low prices you're seeing today," he said.

Woodside said there would be only a "modest" increase in the previous estimate of $11 billion to develop Scarborough [offshore W. Australia ], as it works on expanding the project by 20% to 8 million tonnes a year.

(Additional reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)

Categories: Energy LNG Activity Gas Australia/NZ

Related Stories

Allseas-Boskalis Consortium Bags $1.4B Offshore Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

PTTEP Buys Chevron's Hess Unit Share of Southeast Asia’s Offshore Block for $450M

China Rolls Out 17MW Floating Wind Turbine Prototype

CNOOC Finds Oil and Gas in South China Sea

Seatrium Makes First Turnkey FPSO Delivery to Petrobras

KBR-SOCAR Joint Venture Secures Work for BP in Azerbaijan

EnQuest Acquires Harbour Energy’s Vietnamese Assets

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Fugro Lands Deepwater Gas Field Job in Southeast Asia

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

Current News

Allseas-Boskalis Consortium Bags $1.4B Offshore Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

CNOOC Brings New Offshore Gas Field On Stream

Yinson, PTSC Get $600M Contract for Vietnam-Bound FSO

PTTEP Buys Chevron's Hess Unit Share of Southeast Asia’s Offshore Block for $450M

Valeura Energy, PTTEP Partner Up on Gulf of Thailand Blocks

Sapura Scoops Over $118M for Chevron, PTTEP Subsea Ops off Thailand

Pandion Energy Divests Interests in Three Norwegian Assets to Inpex

China Starts Production at Major Oil Field in Bohai Sea

Dutch Contractor Completes Malaysia’s Largest 'Rig-to-Reef' Decom Project

China Rolls Out 17MW Floating Wind Turbine Prototype

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com