Woodside surfs price wave

PERTH-based hydrocarbon major Woodside Energy Limited has continued its drive to expand production and take advantage of surging oil prices.

The company and its joint venturer partners have given formal approval to begin a $110 million development of the Legendre oil fields on the North West Shelf in Western Australia.

The project will be centred on the Legendre North and Legendre South oil fields in permit WA-I-P, about 100 kilometres north of the Burrup Peninsula and about 35km southeast of the Wanaea-Cossack oil fields.

The fields will be developed by Woodside as operator using a mobile offshore production unit – a converted jack-up drilling rig provided under a services agreement by Houston-based Oceaneer-ing International.

The Legendre fields contain estimated probable removable reserves of 40.4 million barrels of oil and will be developed through three horizontal production wells in the Legendre North field and one in the Legendre South field. First oil is planned for mid-2001.

Participants in WA-1-P are Woodside (45.94 per cent), Apache Energy Limited (31.5 per cent), and Santos Limited (22.56 per cent).

Woodside has further strengthened its development by acquiring Petroz Offshore Pty Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Petroz NL, for $5 million.

Recently Woodside boosted its equity in Legendre by purchasing a 19 per cent stake from Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd for $63.8 million.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd has also recently purchased 56 million Oil Search Limited shares at $2.10 each. This represents a stake of 12 per cent in Oil Search and will allow a member of Woodside to take a seat on the board.