Woodside said the discussions were confidential and incomplete. “As a global energy company,Woodside continuously assesses a range of opportunities to create and deliver value for shareholders,” it said.
Similarly,Santos said the merger was one of a range of “alternative structural options” it was considering to unlock value.
In November,Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said he was frustrated at the company’s low share price.
Both companies said there was no certainty the discussions would lead to a transaction,and they would continue to update the market under their continuous disclosure obligations.
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Any combination of $57 billion Woodside and $22 billion Santos would come under scrutiny from the competition regulator due to their already prominent positions in the east and west coast gas markets.
Both companies have grown recently by taking over smaller Australian operations.