Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said it’s cleared to take on Exxon Mobil’s 50 percent interest in the Scarborough gas field off the nation’s coast. Rival energy company BHP Billiton cleared the way Monday for the acquisition after waiving its right to pre-emption on the deal. As a result, Woodside increases its stake in Scarborough to 75 percent. “I am pleased BHP has agreed that Woodside will become operator of the Scarborough development,” Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in a statement . “The Scarborough joint venture will now be focused on finalizing the development concept prior to entering front-end engineering design and positioning for a final investment decision in 2020.” Woodside reported a net profit after tax of nearly […]