By Rhiannon Hoyle

SYDNEY--Woodside Petroleum Ltd. on Monday said it has signed a deal with BHP Billiton Ltd. to become the operator of a planned development of the Scarborough gas field off Australia's west coast.

In a statement, Woodside said it expects to become the operator after completing the purchase of Exxon Mobil Corp.'s stake.

Under the agreement, Woodside will grant BHP the option to buy an extra 10% interest in Scarborough before the end of 2019. The pair will also hold talks on potentially selling up to a 10% stake to gas buyers, Woodside said.

Woodside, Australia's largest independent oil and gas company, last month signed a deal to buy Exxon's 50% interest in an offshore block that contains the bulk of the Scarborough natural-gas field for up to US$744 million, including a US$300 million payment when a final investment decision on developing the asset is made.

The company hopes to complete the deal by the end of the month, it said.

-Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 12, 2018 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT)

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