Woodside, Santos Could Offer Resources for Conquer Consolidation Antitrust Obstacles

Oil and gas firms Woodside and Santos could conquer any “critical worries” with an A$80 billion ($52 billion consolidation) from Australia’s opposition controller by auctioning off a few more modest homegrown resources, said a source with information on the arrangement’s conversations.

The source couldn’t be named as the consolidation talks among Woodside and Santos are private.

Woodside and Santos declined to remark, with Santos alluding to its assertion on Thursday, which said it was “evaluating a scope of option underlying choices”.

After market hours on Thursday, Woodside and Santos confirmed rumors that they were in the process of initiating negotiations to establish a significant oil and gas company with assets in Australia, Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The blended element would control around 26% of Australia’s east coast gas market and 35% of the Western Australian homegrown gas market as per examiners, which could cause worry for the country’s opposition controller.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been exploring the east coast market for a considerable length of time, under tension from the Australian government to assist with driving down gas costs for families and organizations.

The west coast is confronting comparative issues now, with significant gas purchasers confronting cost increments and a conjecture supply mash from 2025.