Woodside Petroleum Ltd shelved talks to sell stakes in a gas field and liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Chinese companies a few months ago because of a growing diplomatic row between Australia and China, the company’s CEO said yesterday.
Chief executive Peter Coleman said that he hopes to revive the talks when the spat subsides.
Woodside had been negotiating with China’s national oil companies, including PetroChina Co (中國石油天然氣), and second-tier companies to sell a “modest” stake in the linked Scarborough gas field and Pluto LNG Train 2 project, which would have included some gas sales.
“They advised us a couple of months ago that they were just not able to proceed at this point due to the relations between China and Australia,” Coleman said.
“So we’re a little frustrated and disappointed by that. But we’re hopeful that things will improve and we’ll be able to get them back to the table,” he said.
Diplomatic relations with China, Australia’s top trading partner, have deteriorated after Canberra called for an international inquiry into the source of COVID-19.
The frayed ties have hit exports of Australian coal, barley, wine, timber and lobsters, but analysts have expected LNG would be immune as Australia is the biggest supplier of LNG to China.
“The restrictions, so far, do not appear to have affected Australian exports of LNG to China,” research firm EnergyQuest said in a report yesterday.
EnergyQuest estimates China imported 23.5 million tonnes of Australian LNG in the first 10 months of this year, in line with the first 10 months of last year.
Coleman said that the diplomatic row had not hurt Woodside’s existing partnerships with Chinese companies in Australia and Myanmar, where he said the relationship was “very good.”
Woodside is also looking to sell down its enlarged stake in the Sangomar oil project in Senegal.
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC, 中國海洋石油) has ties with Woodside’s former partner in Senegal, FAR Ltd, for projects in West Africa.
Coleman did not see the diplomatic spat stopping CNOOC from bidding for a stake in Sangomar, he said.
In a separate report, China has stopped the import of all timber from the Australian state of Victoria after customs officials said they had discovered pests, Canberra said.
Australian Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said that the Chinese General Administration of Customs had informed the agriculture department that “all export of logs from the state of Victoria are suspended as of 11 November.”
The ban comes a week after China halted timber imports from Queensland state, and Chinese importers told media they had been called to a meeting and informally told by officials that Australian products would face increased customs inspections after Friday last week.
Chinese officials have denied that any coordinated action is being taken against Australian products.
Australian agriculture officials last week warned 400 exporters there had been customs delays in China and commercial losses, including live lobsters that died waiting for customs clearance in Shanghai.
Littleproud said in a statement that the latest timber suspension follows the detection of bark beetle in logs exported from Victoria this year and concerns around fumigation of bushfire affected logs.
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