In an interview with the Houston Chronicle Yeager ruled out the prospect of acquiring an oil major, ending speculation the company was interested in acquiring rival Anadarko Petroleum.

However, Yeager said the company was stilling looking at "major" acquisitions following its $US4.75 billion purchase of Chesapeake Energy's Fayetteville shale gas assets earlier this year.

The comments come as rumours re-emerged this week BHP was preparing a $35 billion takeover bid for Woodside after its shares closed below $40 for the first time in 10 months.

While Yeager was not asked about the prospect of making a bid for Woodside, the comments have provided more speculation on the possibility of a takeover.

Talk of a Woodside takeover began to heat up after Shell announced late last year it would offload 10% of its 34% stake. The sale ended speculation the Anglo-Dutch oil giant had been looking to launch another takeover bid for Woodside, but left the company open as a potential takeover target.

Analysts have suggested Woodside could emerge as the next best option for BHP after its Pilbara iron ore merger with Rio Tinto collapsed and its Potash Corp bid was blocked by the Canadian government.

The speculation about a potential takeover pushed Woodside's shares above $48, though BHP told the Australian Securities Exchange it was unaware of any reason for the talk.

This week the talk continued after Woodside's shares slumped due to low oil prices and another delay at the Pluto liquefied natural gas project.

The Australian quoted sources close to BHP as saying it had previously ruled out making a bid while Woodside's shares remained at about $40, while in a research note Credit Suisse said the almost 15% drop this month could push the world's biggest miner to snap up Shell's 24% stake in Woodside before making a takeover bid.