Oil and gas giant buys up NSW farms

Australia’s largest oil and gas company has paid more than $23 million for 4300ha of grazing land in southeastern NSW.

The Monaro Grazing Portfolio has been sold to Woodside Energy Carbon (Services) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the ASX-listed Woodside Energy Group.

Australia’s largest oil and gas company has expanded its rural property portfolio, paying a premium price for more than 4300ha of grazing land in southeastern NSW as part of its carbon offset initiatives.

Woodside Energy Carbon (Services) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the ASX-listed Woodside Energy Group has acquired the three-farm Monaro Grazing Portfolio from a wealthy Sydney-based investor.

Property records show the Woodside Energy subsidiary paid $21.604 million for two portions of the portfolio: the 2269ha Biggam property at Rocky Plain and the 1721ha Worongah, located about 60km south at Jimenbuen NSW.

Woodside also paid a further $1.56 million for the 326ha Tara property also at Rocky Plain, for a total outlay of $23.164 million.

Listed for sale in October last year, offers of more than $18 million were tipped for the Monaro Grazing Portfolio, which was expected to attract interest from local farming families, corporate investors, domestic and international high net-worth individuals and carbon groups.

All three properties were used for sheep and beef production in recent seasons.

Colliers Agribusiness agents handled the sale, but declined to comment on the transactions.

It is understood the Amandri Group Pty Ltd offloaded the Monaro Grazing Portfolio after aggregating the holdings more than a decade ago.

Amandri Group Pty Ltd is a holding company of the Sydney-based son of one of China’s richest people, Jianmin Song.

The Monaro Grazing Portfolio comprises Biggam (2269ha) and Tara (326ha) in Rocky Plain and Worongah (1721ha) in Jimenbuen, NSW.

Song is the son of Song Zuowen, the billionaire founder of the family’s Nanshan Group, which was an aluminium manufacturer before diversifying into textiles and real estate.

A Woodside Energy spokesperson said the company has acquired the Monaro Grazing Portfolio to plant native trees and shrubs to generate ACCUs.

“Woodside utilises certified carbon credits to offset equity Scope 1 and 2 emissions that are above our targets in a given year after design out and operate out measures have been taken,” they said.

In recent years Woodside Energy has expanded its WA rural property holdings to now own more than 20,000ha for carbon abatement.

According to the federal government’s Clean Energy Regulator register of ACCU projects, Woodside has 14 registered projects in WA stretching from sites north of Lancelin down to Cranbrook in the southwest of the state.