Perth, June 19, 2026, 02:06 AWST
- Woodside ended Thursday at A$28.62, off 1.2%. The S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6%.
- Crude prices face more pressure with the Strait of Hormuz expected to reopen, which should let stuck Gulf exports go through.
- Woodside says it does not know of any Exxon Mobil proposal and isn’t in deal talks with the U.S. oil major.
Woodside Energy Group shares closed at A$28.62 on Thursday, down 1.2%. The stock hit its session low at the close, bringing its two-day loss to about 4.7%. Volume was 6.6 million shares.
Woodside shares slid as outside forces hit the stock. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy index shed 1.16% on Thursday, with investors cutting earnings forecasts for oil firms. Woodside supplies a lot of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which is natural gas cooled into a liquid for shipping.
Brent crude dropped 2.33% to $77.69 a barrel by 1615 GMT on Thursday, hitting lows not seen since before the Iran conflict started. “The prospect of renewed Hormuz traffic removes the big risk premium” in crude, Phil Flynn at Price Futures Group said, referring to the higher prices when supply looks shaky. Reuters
Santos dropped 0.4% to A$7.33, underperforming its bigger competitor. Woodside’s sharper loss looks to be a mix of some leftover takeover premium leaking out and softer oil prices. The market can’t really split those drivers in just one day.
Woodside is now worth about A$54.4 billion in market value. The company said Monday it’s not talking with Exxon, after its U.S.-listed shares surged 8.35% on June 12 on a report that Exxon was looking at Woodside as a possible takeover. There isn’t a confirmed bid. Any offer would still have to clear commercial, political and regulatory barriers.
Woodside is moving ahead with a bigger piece of the Browse gas project. The company triggered its pre-emption right to buy PetroChina’s 10.67% stake for an upfront US$225 million, and might pay another US$175 million if the project gets the green light before June 2032. CEO Liz Westcott said the step is a “pathway to maximise long-term shareholder value.” After the deal and necessary approvals, Woodside’s share of Browse would climb to 41.27%.
Analysts sounded more cautious. UBS energy analyst Tom Allen called the purchase “a materially softer valuation” compared to PetroChina’s 2012 entry price. Saul Kavonic at MST Marquee said shareholders “are not keen” on Woodside pushing forward with Browse. That’s the key issue: the project could lock in long-term gas, but it might take a lot of capital to get there. Reuters
Woodside posted first-quarter revenue of US$3.26 billion, with production at 45.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company is still targeting full-year production between 172 million and 186 million barrels of oil equivalent. Marc Jocum at Global X ETFs said the market expects the business review to deliver “mid-single-digit efficiency gains,” or about US$100 million to US$200 million a year. Reuters
But risk is two-sided here. If the U.S.-Iran deal falls apart, oil could move higher and help Woodside. If Gulf exports recover quickly and Asia stays weak, that hits the company. Then there’s Browse. Woodside’s own review put capex for the potential project at A$48.7 billion. So if the company moves ahead, investors take on approval, build, and cost risks.
Oil prices will set the tone for Friday, while the market waits for more news from Exxon. The next update out of the company comes when Woodside reports second-quarter numbers on July 29. Half-year results land August 25. For now, shares look set to move mostly in line with oil and LNG, with that unconfirmed takeover angle hanging around. There’s no firm offer behind the stock yet.
