Perth-headquartered Woodside has formally taken over as operator of the Gippsland Basin gas assets, giving it a critical role in supply of the resource to the east coast.
Perth-headquartered Woodside has formally taken over as operator of the Gippsland Basin gas assets, giving it a critical role in supply of the resource to the east coast.
Woodside acquired non-controlling stakes in the Gippsland assets when it merged with BHP’s petroleum business in June 2022, alongside ExxonMobil.
The assets include two projects – the Gippsland Basin joint venture of which Woodside owns 50 per cent, and the Kipper Unit joint venture in which the Perth company is a 32.5 per cent owner.
Exxon ran the Gippsland operations for 56 years but agreed to hand control over to Woodside last year.
That handover is now complete, giving Woodside control over a critical basin supplying the east coast domestic gas market.
Woodside chief executive Liz Westcott said the completed deal marked a key milestone for the company in its Australian operations.
“Today marks a new chapter for the Gippsland Basin joint ventures as Woodside assumes operatorship of these nationally significant energy assets which play a critical role in supplying gas to Australian homes and businesses,” he said.
“As operator, Woodside’s focus is on maintaining safe, reliable operations and supporting continued energy security for the east coast.
“Our company was established more than 70 years ago and named after the small town of Woodside in Gippsland, where our founders first began exploring for oil. We are proud to be returning to Victoria as these assets’ operator and look forward to continuing to contribute to eastern Australia’s energy future.
“One hundred per cent of Woodside’s gas production from the Gippsland Basin is supplied to the domestic market.”
The handover of the Gippsland assets comes as the federal government attempts to secure the future of the east coast gas market.
The government announced plans to introduce a 20 per cent national domestic gas reservation policy for LNG exporters in its May budget.
The policy would not directly impact the Gippsland operations, which supply all of their gas domestically, but it would increase the supply of overall gas into the east coast system.
Ms Westcott told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event at Canberra’s Parliament House last week that clarity would be required, with consultation over finer details ongoing.
“Capital flows to countries with stable, predictable and competitive policy settings,” she said.
“That’s why clarity on Australia’s national domestic gas reservation scheme is so important.”
Last month, Woodside dismissed media speculation of a potential $60 billion takeover approach by Exxon.
