Plans by Woodside and Benaris International to continue jointly selling Otway Basin LPG have been reauthorised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The ACCC has reauthorised the arrangements until December 31 2012. The ACCC considers cooperation between the two, who have been jointly marketing their shares of LPG from the project since last year under an earlier ACCC authorisation, is likely to deliver cost savings while having little, if any, negative effect on competition.
"The amount of LPG Benaris and Woodside have to sell represents a small fraction of the LPG produced in south-eastern Australia and so there is likely to be little, if any anti-competitive detriment flowing from the arrangement," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said today.
"And it is likely to be cheaper and simpler for Benaris and Woodside to sell their shares of LPG from the project jointly."
The Otway Basin, around Port Campbell in south-western Victoria, is one of four LPG and natural-gas producing basins, or regions, in south-eastern Australia. There are also two petrol refineries in Victoria producing LPG as a by-product.
Woodside and Benaris are two of the four joint-venture partners in the Otway Gas Project. The other partners, Origin and CalEnergy, will continue to market their shares of project LPG separately.
The ACCC's decision to authorise the arrangements affirms its draft decision issued in July this year.
Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
The ACCC's determination will be available at www.accc.gov.au/AuthorisationsRegister