Jadestone advances in Australia but drops NZ plans

Regulatory clarity and swiftness allow the firm to make a rapid move into the North West Shelf, in contrast to its withdrawal from Maari

Singapore-based independent Jadestone Energy has made progress in Australia shortly after a setback in New Zealand, demonstrating the drastically different upstream environments in the two Antipodean nations. Jadestone has completed its acquisition of BP's non-operated 16.67pc stake in the North West Shelf project’s oilfields, off the coast of Western Australia, following an initial SPA in July. The Singaporean firm paid $20mn, having already paid an initial $41mn into the project’s decommissioning trust fund. BP has now divested from the development entirely, and the scheme—which is better known as an LNG export project—remains operated by Australian firm Woodside. “We see significant