The Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) share price is lifting in intraday trade, up 1.7% to $19.59 per share.
That will come as welcome news to investors who've watched the Woodside share price drop by 11.22% over the past month.
What's driving investor interest?
Woodside's share price looks to be potentially impacted from 2 fronts today.
Firstly, energy prices continued to edge higher over the past 24 hours.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% overnight, currently trading at US$73.22 (AU$98.95) per barrel. Just over 3 weeks ago, on 20 August, that same barrel was selling for US$65.18, or 12% below the current price.
This trend has helped place all but 1 of the 10 shares listed in the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) in the green today. Overall, the ASX 200 Energy index is up 1.13% at time of writing, compared to a more muted gain of 0.09% on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
The second factor that could be impacting the Woodside share price today is some news, reported by the Australian:
Hong Kong-based investor CKI is understood to have bowed out of the competition for a $US3bn stake in the Pluto Train 2 development in Western Australia. Bids are understood to have landed with owner Woodside Petroleum during the week starting August 30.
CKI was reportedly concerned it might not be granted Australian government approval. The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has been subjecting international investors – especially those linked with China – to greater scrutiny before approving investments in critical infrastructure assets.
The Pluto Train 2, located in Western Australia, would certainly qualify as a critical infrastructure asset. On completion, it will process gas from the offshore Scarborough gas field.
With CKI bowing out of the bidding, the Australian noted that the remaining contenders are Brookfield and Global Infrastructure Partners as well as IFM and APA.
Woodside share price snapshot
Year-to-date, the Woodside share price is down 14%. That compares to a gain of 11% posted by the ASX 200.
Over the past 5 day, its shares are flat.
