Article in Australian, page-227

So perhaps the situation is more like this?….

• WPL are insisting they are buying the local COP company (hmmm..goodness only knows why they want it?)
• WPL is pushing that COP get on with it and deliver. COP likewise have stated they are pressing ahead at full steam
• All three parties (FAR, COP and WPL) agree that pre-empts do exist

So the outcome…which seems to satisfy everyone’s stated “requirements”…
√ FAR pre-empts SNE acreage from COP for $430m (FAR happy)
√ WPL buys COP Senegal company. for $430m, as they apparently want (Woodside happy)
√ COP gets $860million...$430m for the company and $430m for the PE (COP very happy)......(and probably even represents a truer current value of the worth!)
Seems this is perhaps why Cath was confident that an amicable agreement would be reached!!!!

dodds