The head of Woodside Petroleum said she is ready to take on US shale oil producers with what the Australian energy group argues will be a cleaner, less capital-hungry offering following the acquisition of BHP’s oil and gas business later this year.
The merger will catapult Woodside from being Australia’s second-biggest producer of liquefied natural gas to one of the world’s top 10 private sector energy producers outside the supermajors, making it a significant oil company with assets in the US, Mexico, Canada, Algeria and Australia.
Under the deal, which will complete mid-year pending a shareholder vote in the second quarter, BHP shareholders will be given shares in Woodside accounting for 48 per cent of the merged company.