Woodside buys stake in West African exploration
Woodside Petroleum has bought a 40 per cent stake in a joint venture deepwater exploration project off West Africa.
The deal with US energy giant Noble Energy means Woodside has secured an interest in exploration, exploitation and production acreage off the coast of Gabon.
The Perth-based company did not disclose the value of the deal in which Noble Energy will hold a 60 per cent interest and will be the operator.
The offshore acreage is 140km off the southwestern coast of Gabon and covers more than 2700km in water depths of between 2300 and 3000m.
Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said the deal was an opportunity for his company to secure significant acreage in an emerging oilprone province with a “like-minded and experienced partner”.
“This is yet another exciting opportunity for us in Africa, building on recent acquisitions in Tanzania and Morocco,” Coleman said.
He said the opportunity was a good fit for Woodside’s core capabili- ties in deepwater exploration.
The announcement comes almost a fortnight after Woodside shareholders scuttled a US$2.7 billion ($3.1 billion) plan to remove Royal Dutch Shell from the firm’s share register.
In May, Woodside abandoned its US$2.7 billion Leviathan joint venture gas deal in Israel after negotiations with Noble Energy.
Leviathan was one of only two major long-term growth prospects for the firm; the other is Browse in Western Australia.