There's been numerous sightings of one the energy big wigs at The Carlyle Group Inc. (NasdaqGS:CG) in Perth in recent weeks, further fuelling speculation the group is likely to emerge as the buyer of Woodside Energy Group Ltd. (ASX:WDS)'s Macedon and Pyrenees oil and gas assets. London-based Bob Maguire, the managing director and co-head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, has been focused on further developing and growing Carlyle's international energy platform, and it's understood he sees Australia as one of the markets to carry this out. Yet, it's still unclear whether Woodside will pull the trigger on a transaction.

The talk in the market is Carlyle is the lead bidder, with Jadestone Energy remaining in the race. Jadestone does not have the same financial firepower as Carlyle. Woodside wants USD 700 million for the assets, and Carlyle's offer is below this number.

If a sale does occur, it's now looking more likely that both assets will be divested, after earlier suggestions that any suitor would only want Macedon, given the remediation liabilities attached to the Pyrenees assets. Woodside now has a plan to accommodate remediation costs for Pyrenees, where the buyer would pay funds into a pool to cover the liabilities over time, underwritten by Woodside, sources say. Woodside last year hired Morgan Stanley to sell Macedon and Pyrenees, a mature oil and gas field with 24 wells with rehabilitation costs of about $1 billion.

Woodside has always indicated it is keen on acquisition opportunities offshore, such as the Gulf of Mexico. But it is dialling down the rhetoric around mergers and acquisitions following recent takeover talks with Santos and will focus on operations until the right deal presents itself.