Young gets update on BHP plan to sell oil, gas assets

Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Stuart Young has met with BHP Petroleum executives in Texas where he was updated on the group's merger with Woodside Petroleum of its global oil and gas assets, including in Trinidad.

The meeting included Michael Stone, BHP TT’s country manager, Graham Salmond, general manager of BHP Petroleum North America and the Caribbean, Selby Bush, head of corporate affairs, and Rohan Goudge, head of appraisal. It took place at the World Petroleum Conference in Houston.

The BHP executives told the minister the merger, worth an estimated US$28 billion, was progressing as planned.

Young was also updated on the ongoing appraisals of BHP's Bongos 3 and 4 wells, provided with details on its joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell and its efforts to minimise costs as they work toward commercialising the LeClerc and Victoria wells.

In BHP’s third quarter report released in October, it announced that it encountered hydrocarbons in the Bongos 3 well and a sidetrack, Bongos 3X, is being drilled for further appraisal. Bongos 4 was spudded in August. The operations for Bongos 4 was suspended until the completion of the operations on Bongos 3X.

BHP’s 2017 discovery of natural gas to the tune of 4-5 tcf at the LeClerc deepwater was hailed as the first deepwater gas discovery at the time. Production of the well, in which BHP and Shell are partners, is expected to begin by 2026, according to reports.

In a release issued on November 22, BHP announced that it signed a binding share sale agreement for the merger of BHP’s oil and gas portfolio with Woodside, which comes after the signing of a merger commitment deed in August.

“On completion the merger will create a global top ten independent energy company by production and the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX),” BHP said in the release.

“The combined company will have a high margin oil portfolio, long life LNG assets and the financial resilience to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development over the energy transition.”

Young and energy ministry officials also promoted the 17 deepwater blocks open for bids in Trinidad during the conference which started Sunday was expected to end Thursday.