WDS: Bass Strait operatorship transitions to Woodside

Research evidence excerpt

WDS: Bass Strait operatorship transitions to Woodside

EQUITY RESEARCH QUICK TAKE

Royal Bank of Canada, Sydney Branch

Gordon Ramsay (Analyst)

June 30, 2026

Woodside Energy Group Ltd.

Bass Strait operatorship transitions to Woodside

ASX: WDS | AUD 28.21 | Outperform | Price Target AUD 35.00

Sentiment: Neutral

Woodside Energy has formally completed the transition of operatorship over the Bass Strait Gippsland Basin Joint Venture

(GBJV) and Kipper Unit Joint Venture (KUJV) from Esso Australia Resources (ExxonMobil). JV equity participation remains GBJV

(Woodside 50% and operator, ExxonMobil 50%), and KUJV (Woodside 32.5% and operator, ExxonMobil 32.5%). Consideration

is the transfer of ExxonMobil’s existing Bass Strait personnel across to Woodside.

Our view

The transition to Bass Strait operatorship improves Woodside's Australian domestic gas positioning in the critical Australian

East Coast gas market. It provides net synergies and new production opportunities that we think may not have registered

with ExxonMobil from a materiality perspective, and therefore may not have occured if ExxonMobil had continued to be the

Bass Strait asset operator. This new role also comes bundled with operatorship of one of Australia's largest and most complex

decommissioning projects ever — a multi-year, multi-campaign exercise with ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

Operating leverage - Synergy and new production opportunities

Woodside is taking over operatorship of the Bass Strait production assets, including the Longford Gas Plant, the Long Island Point

gas liquids processing facility and associated pipeline infrastructure. This area provides up to ~40% of Australian East Coast gas

supply, creating new operating leverage for Woodside.