Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Woodside faces growing pressure to
make an acquisition of as much as $5b and should “perhaps look
at” buying InterOil Corp. or a stake in Papua New Guinea gas
fields from Total SA, Macquarie Group says.
* Woodside appears to have few opportunities to grow with
existing assets and has accelerating underlying production
decline rates, Macquarie says in report yesterday
* Without new project approvals or acquisitions, Woodside
earnings may fall 35% through end of the decade, it says
* NOTE: InterOil last mo. agreed to sell Total a 61.3% stake
in its PNG license that includes the Elk and Antelope fields
* NOTE: Total said last month the size of its stake may drop
should a “strategic partner” acquire up to a 19.3%
interest