Commodities
Factbox-Australia’s Woodside, Santos in talks for $53 billion oil-gas merger
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: View of a model of carbon capture and storage designed by Santos Ltd, at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association conference in Brisbane, Australia May 18, 2022. REUTERS/Sonali Paul/File Photo/File Photo
(Reuters) – Australia energy companies Woodside (OTC:) and Santos Ltd said late on Thursday that they are in preliminary merger talks, in what could be the latest big deal in a wave of global consolidation the in oil and gas sector.
A potential combination of the companies, which together have a market value of about $52 billion, comes amid challenges faced by both in their domestic projects from Indigenous people as well as rising pressures of decarbonisation.
Both companies have seen their share performance lag global peers.
CHALLENGS
Woodside in October cut its its 2023 production outlook and missed third-quarter revenue estimates, while it was ordered by the Australian federal court to seek new approval to conduct seismic blasting under the seabed for its $12 billion Scarborough gas project after a legal challenge by an Indigenous woman.
Santos is contending with legal challenges from a traditional land owner from the Tiwi Islands on undersea pipeline works for its $3.6 billion Barossa gas project and has forecast lower output in 2024 as its Bayu-Undan gas field reached the end of its life and its West Australian offshore field’s output declined.
Below are key details on both companies, including production and reserves measured in million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe):
Woodside Santos
Market cap ($ in billion) 37.39 15.56
Revenue ($ in billion)
16.9 7.8
2022
Production (mmboe) Domestic 136.6 61.3
International 21.1 41.9
Total 157.7 103.2
Proved plus probable reserves (mmboe) 3,640.3 1,745
2023-24
Production forecasts (mmboe)
183-188 (2023) 84-90 (2024)
ASSETS AND PROJECTS
Woodside
Woodside operates major liquefied (LNG) export facilities in Australia, including North West Shelf and Pluto LNG, and three floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facilities in western Australia. The company also owns a stake in the Chevron-operated Wheatstone LNG project.
The company is involved in oil-gas joint ventures in the Bass strait and partners with Santos at Macedon, a gas field off western Australia. Woodside has been trying to sell ageing domestic oil and gas assets where production is declining and high decomissioning costs are required.
The company received approval for its Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects in Australia in 2021, with first LNG cargo expected in 2026.
Globally, Woodside operates in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico with three offshore platforms, as well as an offshore processing facility in Trinidad and Tobago.
In Senegal, Woodside is targeting first oil production at the Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 in 2024. Woodside has also made a final investment decision to develop the large, high-quality Trion resource in Mexico, with first oil output targeted for 2028.
Other Woodside projects include proposed hydrogen and ammonia projects H2Perth and H2TAS in Australia and another hydrogen project, H2OK, in North America.
Santos
Santos operates Gladstone LNG and holds a stake in Papua New Guinea LNG.
The company expects production at the Timor-Leste Bayu-Undan field to cease in 2025 and plans to backfill Darwin LNG with supply from the Barossa field.
Santos is the second-biggest producer of domestic gas in Western Australia and has invested in two offshore oil fields, Van Gogh and Pyrenees.
On the Australian east coast, Santos portfolio includes the Cooper and Eromanga Basins as well eastern Queensland production.
In the U.S., Santos is advancing its Pikka Phase 1 project in Alaska, expecting first oil production in 2026.
Combined
If the companies merge, they would have a 26% share of Australia’s east coast gas market.
Combined oil and gas production in 2022 for the two totaled slightly over 260 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), and their total proven plus probable reserves are 5.39 billion mmboe, based on data from the companies.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said on Thursday it would consider whether a public merger review into the impact on competition was required if the deal goes ahead.
“Given ACCC’s focus on East Coast gas, we expect a (merged company) may be a forced seller of the Cooper Basin,” Macquarie bank analyst Mark Wiseman said in a note.
($1 = 1.5154 Australian dollars)
Commodities
Oil set for weekly loss on surplus fears despite OPEC+ cut extensions
By Enes Tunagur
(Reuters) -Oil prices fell on Friday as analysts continued to forecast a supply surplus in 2025 despite the OPEC+ decision to postpone planned supply increases and extend deep output cuts to the end of 2026.
futures were down 66 cents, or 0.9%, to $71.43 per barrel at 1128 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 65 cents, or 1%, to $67.65 per barrel.
For the week, Brent was on track to fall 2%, while WTI was on course for a 0.5% drop.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies on Thursday pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026.
The group, known as OPEC+ and responsible for about half of the world’s oil output, was planning to start unwinding cuts from October 2024, but a slowdown in global demand – especially in China – and rising output elsewhere have forced it to postpone the plan several times.
“The outcome of the latest meeting of OPEC+ members surprised us positively … The extension of the production cuts shows the group remains united and is still targeting to keep the oil market in balance,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Pressuring prices on Friday, analysts reiterated expectations of a supply surplus next year, although some of them now view a smaller surplus than before.
Bank of America forecasts increasing oil surpluses to drive Brent to average $65 a barrel in 2025, while expecting oil demand growth to rebound to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) next year, the bank said in a note on Friday.
HSBC, meanwhile, now expects a smaller oil market surplus of 0.2 million bpd, from 0.5 million bpd previously, it said in a note.
Brent has largely stayed in a tight range of $70-75 per barrel in the past month, as investors weighed weak demand signals in China and heightened geopolitical risk in the Middle East.
“The general narrative is that the market is stuck in its rather narrow range. While immediate developments might push it out of this range on the upside briefly, the medium-term view remains rather pessimistic,” PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.
Commodities
Oil pares some gains after source says OPEC+ to delay output hike
By Paul Carsten
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices pared some gains on Thursday after a source told Reuters OPEC+ has agreed to delay a planned oil output hike until April 2025.
was up 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $72.55 a barrel at 1237 GMT. It had been at $72.84 before Reuters reported the delay.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 25 cents, 0.4%, and was trading at $68.79 a barrel.
The planned delay comes as OPEC+, made up the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus allies including Russia, tries to support prices as it wrestles with weak demand, notably from China, and rising supply outside the producer group.
“It will not make next year’s oil balance tight and supply surplus is still anticipated,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. “This view was mirrored in the gut price reaction.”
There remains the question of how long the delays could last, with this only the latest in a series. OPEC+ was originally due to begin raising output in October as part of a plan to gradually unwind the group’s most recent layer of output curbs of 2.2 million barrels per day.
“They reiterate that these barrels will indeed come back,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB. “It’s a limited time frame. This means there is no upside to the oil price in the next couple of years.”
Elsewhere, a larger-than-expected draw in stockpiles last week also provided some support to prices.
In the Middle East, Israel said on Tuesday it would return to war with Hezbollah if their truce collapses and its attacks would go deeper into Lebanon and target the state itself.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has travelled to Qatar and Israel to kick-start the U.S. President-elect’s diplomatic push to help reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal before he takes office on Jan. 20, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.
Commodities
OPEC+ likely to extend oil output cuts to support market- report
On Thursday, OPEC+ is expected to postpone its planned increase in oil production, which was initially scheduled to commence in January, Reuters reported.
The decision to maintain current output levels aims to provide additional support for the oil market. The group, responsible for about half of the world’s oil supply, had intended to start easing output restrictions through 2025 but is now reconsidering in light of a global demand slowdown and increased production from non-member countries.
The consortium’s plan to unwind output cuts has faced challenges due to these market conditions, which have also exerted downward pressure on oil prices.
Accordingly, an extension of the current output cuts for an additional three months is the most probable outcome of the online meeting. However, there are indications that an even longer extension could be under consideration.
The deliberations within OPEC+ reflect the group’s ongoing efforts to balance oil supply with fluctuating global demand. The decision to delay the increase in output is seen as a measure to stabilize the market, which has been affected by various economic factors.
Market participants are closely monitoring the developments from OPEC+’s meeting, as the group’s decisions have significant implications for global oil supply and pricing. The final outcome of the meeting, including the length of the extension, will be determined by the consensus of the member countries.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
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