I don't think they'll put it out with too much debt because...

I don't think they'll put it out with too much debt because nearly all their debt is APLNG-related and I think ASIC would take a pretty dim view if they tried to offload APLNG debt onto Newco.

Plus loading it with debt will only come straight off the bottom line in terms of how much equity they can raise from the market in the IPO - put a billion dollars of debt onto it and that's a billion dollars less cash you get from the market.

Re: Armour, good result for both parties. Kincora and the surrounding acreage really is down to the dregs now, both Origin and Santos would have been glad to get the rehab liability off the books. A small company like Armour with much lower operating costs and overheads will be able to run the fields for longer and generate money (and also rehab it much more cheaply when the time comes).

Expect a few more to go in the next few months IMO - for example Santos will probably sell their Denison fields between Roma and Emerald. It's quite possible the whole lot (Denison and Kincora) were rolled up in one sale that's already been agreed to, but Armour took their pre-emptive right over Kincora.

Pity they don't seem so keen to sell their Mereenie asset! I know a potential buyer......