The Scarborough gas field is located approximately 220 km northwest of Exmouth, offshore Western Australia, and is one of the most remote gas resources in the 535,000 sq km Carnarvon Basin.
The acquisition includes a 25 per cent stake in WA-1-R, and 50 per cent WA-62-R, which together contain the Scarborough gas field.
Woodside will also acquire a 50 per cent interest in WA-61-R and WA-63-R which contain the Jupiter and Thebe gas fields. It means Woodside will operate WA-61-R, WA-62-R and WA-63-R, while ExxonMobil is the operator of WA-1-R.
Woodside’s assets in the area include the Scarborough, Thebe and Jupiter fields, which are estimated to contain gross 8.7 Tcf of gas, putting their net share of the resources at 2.6 Tcf of gas.
Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said “We look forward to working with ExxonMobil and BHP Billiton following completion of the transaction to progress commercialisation of these world-class resources.”
Woodside will pay BHP Billiton AU$325 million (US$250 million) on completion of the transaction, and AU$195 million (US$150 million) contingent on a final investment decision to develop the Scarborough field.
While the effective date of the transaction is 1 July 2016, completion of the agreement is subject to pre-emption rights and regulatory approvals, which is targeted for the end of the year.