Woodside on Track for Final Investment Decision on Trion

At this year’s CERAWeek, the Australian company Woodside Energy announced that it is on track to make a final investment decision on the Trion offshore oil project, which would lead to the first deepwater production in the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2022, the company delayed the financial authorization of the US$11 billion project located in Mexico's Perdido Basin but reported this week that it will decide in 2023. Woodside expects that the project will meet its investment criteria.

"We are very excited about Trion. We have completed the front-end engineering work on that asset, the reservoir is well appraised and we like the fiscal terms," Meg O’Neill, CEO, Woodside, told Reuters. In addition, Woodside Energy recently said that it would continue to look for opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico and is planning to submit the first ultra-deepwater Field Development Plan to CNH in 2023. 

Woodside Energy is currently tendering for the project’s floating production unit, which is key to understanding Trion’s costs and designing the schedule outlook. According to O’Neill, PEMEX has been supportive in gaining the required permits and complying with environmental regulations, which has differentiated Woodside’s project from others.

Last month, the energy company said that it would review potential acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico after it reported its highest-ever profit. Woodside reported that its underlying earnings tripled to US$5.2 billion in 2022 on the back of soaring energy prices and an output that jumped more than 70% after the purchase of BHP Group’s energy unit. 

The Trion project is a large deepwater oil field in the Perdido Fold Belt with the potential to generate value for Woodside, PEMEX, and Mexico. Woodside Energy has a 60% stake in the project, which is expected to produce 100,000b/d of oil. The energy company has demonstrated its skill in deepwater developments and said it is committed to sharing its international experience with relevant Mexican stakeholders.

After the acquisition of BHP Group’s energy unit, the company has increased its presence in Mexico and became the largest energy company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, said Stephan Drouaud, Trion Project Director, Woodside Energy, in a recent interview with MBN. The company is also listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Some of the company’s key business priorities include delivering reliable production, executing commitment to its major projects and investing in growth opportunities as well as delivering merger synergies.