Australia’s energy major Woodside has taken over the operatorship of the Bass Strait oil and gas assets that were previously operated by Exxon.
The two have a 50:50 partnership in the portfolio, which includes production and processing operations. The change in operatorship will result in synergy savings of over $60 million, Woodside said. The company added it plans to boost natural gas production from the assets, to deliver it to its domestic market.
Additional gas supplies to the domestic Australian market are fast becoming critical, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned in June that a shortage of gas for the east coast of the country was about to emerge earlier than previously expected.
“The east coast gas supply outlook for 2025 and 2026 has deteriorated despite an easing in gas prices in the second half of 2024,” the ACCC said last month, adding that “Concerningly, supply into the domestic market has fallen since that time and gas is increasingly being sold on a short-term basis, posing challenges for gas users who need longer-term certainty for their businesses.”
The Albanese government, meanwhile, said it was considering creating a gas reserve to help avoid shortages during periods of heightened demand for energy. The Bass Strait production assets can cover 40% of demand on Australia’s east coast.
The Bass Strait is the oldest Australian offshore oil and gas operation. Production there began in 1969, and since then, the deposit has yielded over 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and more than 5 billion barrels of crude oil in sales, according to Woodside Energy. Currently, the Bass Strait is the largest supplier of gas to the eastern states, including Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, and South Australia.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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