Have pasted an article apparently published today. I tend to agree with Jujum and others that a deal has been done, but the article leaves hope for more. Not sure that we'll know all tomorrow if the WPL/COP isn't yet complete.
Let's hope we have a genuine company changing announcement tomorrow. We've waited long enough IMO!! One sleep to go. Sorry if this has been posted.
Woodside Petroleum closes $US440m Senegal deal despite dispute
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FAR discovered oil off the coast of Senegal. BusinessDay
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by
Angela Macdonald-Smith
Woodside Petroleum has declared that its $US440 million purchase of a stake in a promising oil venture off Senegal has been completed, even as a contractual dispute involving one of the partners remains unresolved.
The transaction with US major ConocoPhillips,
first announced in July, sees Woodside take 35 per cent of the SNE and FAN oil discoveries off the coast of the West African country, setting it up to start producing oil there early next decade.
The SNE field is estimated by Woodside to hold about 560 million barrels of oil, and potentially more than 900 million.
At the best estimate for the field size, Woodside is paying just $US2.24 a barrel, reflecting the risks surrounding the potential project which is still early in its development phase and lies in a country with no existing oil production. The partners also still need to pay the costs of development of potentially up to $US8 billion.
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman on Saturday described the venture as "an exciting addition" to the company's growth portfolio.
He said in a recent interview that the Senegal venture had the potential to create a long-term production hub for Woodside on the West African coast.
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WOODSIDE FPO (WPL)
$28.320.381.36%
volume 2934938value 83005158.7
May14GMT+1000 (AUS Eastern Standard Time)Oct11Oct1630354026.20142.665
Last updated: Sun Oct 30 2016 - 14:12:49
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Company Profile
Management and operation of hydrocarbon exploration, development, production, transportation and marketing; implementation and operation of the North West Shelf Gas Project; exploration and development of gas, oil and condensate reserves.
http://www.woodside.com.au/
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels (101020)
ASIC 004898962
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But still rumbling under the surface is a legal dispute over pre-emptive rights to the stake sold by Conoco, which has been questioned by junior venture partner FAR Ltd.
While Conoco declared in August that the 30-day period that its Senegal venture partners had to pre-empt the Woodside deal had expired, ASX-listed FAR maintains that the US major has breached the operating agreement for the venture and that the pre-emption period has not yet commenced.
That dispute remains unresolved, raising questions over how Conoco can complete the sale to Woodside. The transaction also needed approval from the Senegal government to complete, but FAR is understood not to have received any advice of that milestone.
In the meantime, FAR and venture operator Cairn Energy have disclosed initial details of plans to develop the SNE field.
FAR last month advised of an upgrade in the estimated size of the field to 651 million barrels and declared the project could be economically developed, with a break-even oil price of less than $US40 a barrel. London-listed Cairn has a lower estimate of the field size, but has put the potential total amount of oil held within the permits at 2.7 billion barrels or more.
The SNE project is expected to cost between $US7 billion and $US8 billion to develop, with production potentially starting in 2022. FAR has outlined a preferred development design for the project, using a leased production vessel, initially producing at 140,000 barrels a day. The project could involve 70-80 wells, of which have would be production wells,
Woodside said the final purchase price for its acquisition of ConocoPhillips Senegal BV was $US350 million plus about $US90 million in adjustments. The total is $US10 million higher than the estimate given when the deal was announced.
Meanwhile Woodside is believed still to be among potential partners for Karoon Gas Australia in the junior's targeted acquisition of two oil fields from Brazilian national oil company Petrobras.
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