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Thursday August 4, 10:53 AM
UPDATE: Woodside Seeks Reassurance After Mauritania Coup

By Stephen Bell
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

PERTH (Dow Jones)--Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) said Thursday it plans to contact the leaders of a military junta that has overthrown Mauritania's government.


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The company will be "engaging with" the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, a Woodside spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires. The talks at this stage will be limited to "safety and operational matters," he said.

Woodside cautioned that "no meeting has officially been scheduled" with the council, which overthrew Mauritania's U.S.-allied president Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya while he was abroad Wednesday.

The council has named national police chief Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall as the country's new leader.

Woodside's 450 staff and contractors in Mauritania - located both onshore and offshore - have all been accounted for and are safe, the spokesman added.

"Drilling operations have continued after a short delay when the port was closed," he said.

The Stena Tay rig is in the final stages of completing a well suspension, while the West Navigator is installing a development well.

Woodside believes the situation on the ground will become clearer when day breaks in around four hours.

The coup has prompted a share sell-off in Woodside's minority partners in Mauritania, including Hardman Resources Ltd. (HDR.AU) and Roc Oil Co. (ROC.AU).

After slumping as much as 10%, Hardman shares recovered slightly and were down 5.2% at 0245 GMT. Roc shares were down 2.9%, while Woodside shares were down 0.5%.

One dealer said investors are worried about the policies of the new regime.

"It's a bit early to say, but this new government is more in tune with the Islamic population so it's possible the new guys won't be as friendly to western investment values," the dealer said.

In an overnight statement, the council said it was committed to "respect all treaties and international conventions ratified by Mauritania."

Meanwhile, the Australian government has advised its citizens to defer all travel to the west African nation.

"There have been reports of a coup in the capital, Nouakchott, on Aug. 3, 2005, and the situation remains uncertain," Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

"Australians in Mauritania should exercise extreme caution and stay indoors and monitor media reports," it added.

Woodside is the operator of the offshore Chinguetti field, estimated to have up to 100 million barrels. It also operates the Tiof field, which may contain up to 400 million barrels of recoverable oil.

The US$625 million Chinguetti development is due to start producing oil in the first quarter of next year at an initial rate of 75,000 barrels per day.

Woodside was also due to begin a major exploration program this month initially targeting the Sotto prospect, which broker UBS estimates holds 150-250 million barrels of oil.

Sotto-1 is the first of a proposed six well program this year that includes the Colin and Espadon prospects.

Woodside owns 47.4% of Chinguetti. The other participants are Hardman with 19%, the Mauritanian government with 12%, U.K.-based BG Group PLC (BRG) with 10.2%, Premier Oil PLC (PMO.LN) with 8.1% and Roc with 3.3%