Woodside eyes off Apache and Phoenix South Discovery

Woodside eyes off Apache
GRETCHEN FRIEMANN AND BRIDGET CARTER

Woodside Petroleum continues to mull a potential acquisition of Apache Corporation’s Australian and Canadian assets as the energy giant faces ongoing investor pressure to bolster its sagging growth prospects.
According to sources the Perth-based company, advised by Citi, is now focused on three segments of Apache’s business and is weighing a $6 billion acquisition that would include a 13 per cent slice of the Wheatstone LNG project, along with two exploration fields, as well as a portfolio of oil and gas-producing assets in Western Australian and the Kitimat LNG project in Canada.
It’s understood two groups recently ventured highly conditional, indicative offers for the WA portfolio, which includes a stake in the Phoenix South Discovery in the Canning Basin. Early drilling appraisals released earlier this year signalled the well may hold as much as 300 million barrels of crude, potentially ranking as one of Australia’s most significant oil finds. Sources claimed Apache rejected both bids on the basis they were too low and outside the targeted $2.5bn-$3bn price range.