Energy
An $80 billion Woodside-Santos merger made little sense from the beginning — including from an energy transition perspective, with the companies pursuing very different net zero strategies.
There's a flood of well-intentioned investors running headlong into green investments. This London asset manager believes many of them are getting it wrong.
Carbon capture and storage has divided the clean tech community for years. But there's growing support for its use in hard to abate sectors. And one of the biggest projects in Australia to date, by Santos, is set to go live in 2024.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency shortlisted six projects for its $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program, but the brainchilds of Woodside and Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's Fortescue were conspicuous by their absence.
One of Brookfield's most senior executives tells Capital Brief there are "certainly other opportunities in Australia" for a landmark deal beyond Origin Energy.
Beyond pursuing a potential $80 billion corporate merger, Woodside and Santos could well also compare notes on defending claims of greenwashing.
Woodside and Santos are poles apart on their ESG strategies. Would an $80 billion merger be beneficial from a sustainability lens?
