Shares in Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (ASX:WPL) fell on July 21, 2021 after an unsourced media report said Australia's top independent gas producer was in talks to buy some or all of BHP Group (ASX:BHP)'s oil and gas assets, analysts and an investor said. Woodside shares ended down 2 cents in a broader market that rose 0.8% and while BHP rose 1.3%. The report in The Australian's Data Room column followed a Bloomberg report which said that mining group BHP was considering selling its oil and gas business, which includes assets off Australia and Trinidad and Tobago and in the Gulf of Mexico.

BHP and Woodside declined to comment on what both companies called “market speculation”.