Ann: Response to media speculation, page-19

AUST Business today (extract):
THE MEGA MERGER THAT COULD RESHAPE ENERGY LANDSCAPE
Eric Johnston
Woodside is on the path to becoming the BHP of energy as it eyes the blockbuster combination with smaller rival Santos as consolidation races through the world’s oil and gas sector.
Takeover talks disclosed by the pair late on Thursday remain just that for now: incomplete and with no certainty of a deal being done. However, it raises the prospect that Woodside could emerge as an $80bn global energy major with operations spanning oil and gas across the Gulf of Mexico, Africa, PNG and Australia’s gas rich North West Shelf.
Any deal would represent the dramatic conclusion of a four-way energy merger, that in recent years has seen the reshaping of Australia’s energy players.
Woodside in the past two years has been catapulted into the top ranks of energy through its acquisition of BHP’s petroleum assets. At the same time, Santos sought to up its own claim in LNG with the acquisition of the PNG-based Oil Search.
However, the talks to explore options underscore the need for big energy to secure scale as the demand for oil and gas faces its own challenges in the coming decades.
Demand for gas is expected to plateau heading into the next decade before tailing off into 2050 as the world looks for other energy options. However, production is forecast to fall away at a faster rate, leaving the world with a critical supply shortage even in the race to green energy.
Any combination with Santos will again change Woodside’s earnings profile, making it more gas rich where payback hurdles on projects are lower…..