Shares in Australia's largest oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) are down over 3% this morning to $31.20 following global oil giant Royal Dutch Shell divesting its remaining $3.5 billion holding in the company.
The oil major completed its sale of 111.8 million shares for $31.10 to institutional investors in morning trade. Whilst Shell has divested its ownership interest in Woodside, the Anglo-Dutch company will continue to maintain a relationship with Woodside as a joint venture partner in the North West Shelf venture and the Browse LNG venture.
Strong demand from institutional investors to soak up such a large holding should be bullish for Woodside shareholders.
2017 has also seen a recovery in oil prices as the price of Brent Crude oil now trades at US$63 per barrel, the highest level since 2015. However, prices are still well down from the lofty US$100+ level of 2014 when an excess amount of supply following the U.S. shale revolution led to a price collapse and a bear market for oil and gas stocks.
