Woodside has agreed to take over operatorship of the Bass Strait assets from ExxonMobil Australia, in a transaction covering offshore and onshore gas infrastructure in Australia.
The agreement covers the offshore Bass Strait production assets, the Longford Gas Plant, the Long Island Point gas liquids processing facility and related pipeline infrastructure. Completion is targeted in 2026 and remains subject to conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals.
The equity interests held by Woodside and ExxonMobil Australia will not change under the agreement. Current decommissioning plans and provisions will also remain unchanged.
Once the transfer is completed, Woodside will be responsible for asset planning and execution activities. The company said the move is aimed at supporting further production and reliability improvements from the assets.
The agreement will also transfer ExxonMobil Australia’s Bass Strait workforce to Woodside.
Woodside expects operatorship of a larger Australian asset base to create economies of scale and generate more than US$60 million in synergies from Bass Strait after transition and integration costs.
The company has identified four potential development wells that could supply up to 200 petajoules of sales gas to the market. Under the agreement, Woodside may develop these opportunities through the Bass Strait infrastructure on a sole basis, subject to further technical maturation and a final investment decision.
The Bass Strait assets include the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture and the Kipper Unit Joint Venture. Woodside and ExxonMobil Australia each hold a 50% participating interest in the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture and a 32.5% participating interest in the Kipper Unit Joint Venture.
Natural gas from the Bass Strait assets is fully dedicated to the Australian domestic market. The assets currently supply about 40% of east coast domestic gas demand in Australia.
