Australia: Woodside Quarterly Production Climbs

LNG player Woodside of Australia said its production in the third quarter was 21.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), up 9.5% on Q2. The company’s sales revenue for the quarter was US$1,338 million.

During the quarter the Browse Joint Venture participants agreed to progress BOD work in relation to the FLNG development concept to commercialise the Browse gas fields.

The Pluto Joint Venture participants also approved the expenditure required for Phase 1 of the Xena field tie-in project.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Woodside-operated North Rankin Redevelopment Project achieved start-up as planned and on budget.

Key production and sales points

· Production volumes were 9.5% higher than the previous quarter, largely due to increased production at the North West Shelf following the completion of planned maintenance on LNG Train 2 during the second quarter.

· Production volumes were 17.4% lower than the corresponding period. Sales revenue decreased 26.8% predominantly due to:

• lower oil sales as a result of the Vincent FPSO being off station for planned shipyard maintenance;

• lower LNG sales from Pluto due to the unplanned outage at the beginning of the quarter; and

• lower condensate sales from the North West Shelf due to the timing of shipments.

· The higher proportion of gas volumes sold resulted in lower average realised prices. The average Brent price for the quarter was $109.65/bbl, slightly above the $109.42/bbl in the corresponding period.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the past three months had seen milestones achieved on major projects within Woodside’s base business and growth portfolio.

“These milestones further demonstrate the progress we are making on our growth strategy,” Coleman said.

“At the same time, our production team continues to deliver the results that make it possible for us to take forward value-creating opportunities.”

[mappress]

LNG World News Staff, October 17, 2013; Image: Woodside