Woodside chief financial officer Doug Bailey said the Perth-based company has $2 billion to spend on "selected regions overseas".

It is understood that Agu Kantsler, Woodside's New Ventures director, and Mike Shearman, Sunrise project leader, last month were on a secretive trip to the US, and the issue of acquisitions was firmly on the agenda.

One name that has cropped up is the $US900 million Westport Resources Corp, which is an independent oil and gas player with activities in the Gulf of Mexico, Rocky Mountains, Permian Basin/Mid-Continent and the Gulf Coast.

Another name being touted is the Pressug Energie division of European tourism giant TUI AG. Pressug has operations in more politically risky areas such as South America, the Mediterranean, Middle East as well as Central Asia.

According to analysts, Woodside needs to acquire production in order to stem a decline in existing wells over the next two to three years. However, such a strategy could spark a feud with majority stakeholder Shell, which has said in the past that Woodside should restrict its activities to the Asian region.

Earlier this year, Woodside failed in its bid to acquire the assets from European oil player BP Veba Oel in a $US2 billion bid.