Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are up 0.53% to $38.09 per share in late afternoon trading on Friday.
The ASX energy share is up 3.4% over the past week and up 11% over the past month.
What’s pushing Woodside shares higher?
Woodside’s gains follow an improvement in oil prices due to tightening global supply.
The crude oil price is up 3.55% this week and up 13.97% over the past four weeks.
Brent oil is up 3.38% this week and up 12.48% over the month.
Meantime, global gas prices are falling.
United Kingdom gas prices are down 4.4% this week and down 17.21% this month.
S&P/ASX 200 Energy (ASX: XEJ) is the only market sector in the green today, up 0.63%.
Meantime, there is news out of Victoria that could impact Australia’s gas market in the long term.
Victoria bans gas in new homes
The Victorian Government has announced it will ban gas connections in all new homes from 2024.
All new homes that require a building permit will be banned from accessing gas.
The announcement came from Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.
According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Victoria uses more gas in residential homes than any other state or territory.
About 80% of homes are currently connected to gas.
D’Ambrosio said:
We’re the first state to actually make a commitment to going along this journey because we know that we need to decarbonise our economy.
All new public buildings that are yet to reach design stage will have to be electric, too. This includes new schools, hospitals and police stations.
Woodside share price snapshot
Woodside shares have almost doubled in value over the past three years.
The war in Ukraine disrupted oil and gas markets globally, leading to higher commodity prices.
Broker CLSA recently raised its rating on Woodside shares to accumulate with a 12-month price target of $40.
