Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) agreed to assume operatorship of the Bass Strait assets under an agreement with ExxonMobil Australia, consolidating operatorship of the assets into its portfolio, according to a Tuesday Australian bourse filing.

Completion is planned for 2026 and is subject to conditions precedent, including obtaining regulatory approvals.

The Bass Strait assets include the Gippsland Basin joint venture and the Kipper Unit joint venture. Both Woodside and ExxonMobil Australia hold a 50% stake in the Gippsland Basin venture each, as well as a 32.5% participating interest in the Kipper Unit venture. The offshore Bass Strait production assets include the Longford gas plant, the Long Island Point gas liquids processing facility, and associated pipeline infrastructure.

Woodside and ExxonMobil's stakes in the assets, as well as the current decommissioning plans and provisions, remain unchanged. ExxonMobil's workforce at the Bass Strait will transfer to Woodside.

Woodside's shares advanced 2% in recent trading on Tuesday.