ConocoPhillips has completed the sale of its interests in Australia-West assets and operations to Santos, which was announced in October 2019. The transaction included a 37.5% share in the Barossa project (raising Santos' stake in the project to 62.5%) and in the Caldita Field, a 56.9% share in the Darwin LNG production plant and in the Bayu-Undan Field (raising Santos' interest in the LNG plant and associated field to 68.4%), a 40% share in the Poseidon Field and a 50% share in the Athena Field. Assets being sold by Conoco Phillips produced around 46,000 boe/d the first three months of 2020, with proved reserves attaining 17 mboe at end-2019. ConocoPhillips will retain its 37.5% stake (and operatorship) in the Australia Pacific LNG project.
The payment of the US$1.39bn transaction has been restructured to reflect the recent market volatility and the deferral of the final investment decision (FID) on the Barossa project: the upfront payment has been reduced by US$125m to US$1,265m and the contingent payment of Barossa FID has been increased by US$125m from US$75m to US$200m.
Santos plans to sell a 25% interest in Darwin LNG and Bayu-Undan to SK E&S for US$390m and a 12.5% interest in Barossa to JERA. These transactions are subject to third-party consents, regulatory approvals and an FID decision on Barossa.