MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 31, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said that Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s (A-/Stable/--) conditional all-cash US$23 per share bid for Energy Partners Ltd. (B+/Watch Dev/--) would not affect the ratings or outlook on Woodside. Woodside's US$1.17 billion (A$1.54 billion, including net debt) hostile bid for New Orleans-based Energy Partners can be achieved within the company's current credit profile given its strong cash flow generation and conservative financial profile. The offer is conditional on Energy Partners shareholders rejecting its current US$2.2 billion (including net debt) merger proposal with Stone Energy Corp. (B+/Watch Neg/--). A successful acquisition would build strongly on Woodside's existing presence in the Gulf of Mexico, and would increase the company's total production from
