Woodside makes $US2.75b acquisition
Woodside Petroleum will spend $US2.75 billion ($A2.98 billion) to buy LNG and oil projects in Australia and Canada.
The oil and gas giant has agreed to buy Apache Corporation’s stakes in the Australian Wheatstone LNG and Balnaves oil projects and the Kitimat LNG project in Canada.
Woodside says the deal will immediately add to its net profit, pre-tax earnings and operating cash flow.
Woodside has also delayed an investment decision on its proposed Browse floating LNG project due to the recent slide in oil prices.
The company had expected to make a final investment decision on the joint venture project in mid 2015 but has now postponed that decision to mid 2016.
Chief executive Peter Coleman said the company would seek to use the slide in oil prices to lower the cost of the project.
“The changes we are experiencing in our industry are starting to flow through our supply chain,” he said in a statement.
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“We will use the time we now have to maximise long-term economic benefits for the development.”
Coleman said the purchase of Apache’s assets was also a result of the change in market conditions.
“We have taken a disciplined and patient approach to identifying the right growth investment,” he said.
“We are now in a position to take advantage of challenging market conditions and use cash reserves and existing debt facilities to acquire very high quality assets.”
