Australia's Woodside Energy says merger talks with Santos collapsed

Australia's Woodside Energy said on Wednesday that discussions with Santos to create a possible A$80 billion ($52.22 billion) global oil and gas giant had collapsed.

Woodside said it conducts thorough due diligence for every opportunity it assesses, and will only pursue a transaction that is value-accretive for its shareholders. "While the discussions with Santos did not result in a transaction, Woodside considers that the global LNG sector provides significant potential for value creation," Woodside CEO Meg O’Neil said in a statement.

If the merger had taken place, it would have created a major global liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer that could attract more offshore investors as gas is seen as a key bridging fuel in the shift to cleaner energy. ($1 = 1.5319 Australian dollars)