Australia’s largest oil and gas producer Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) reported record output and sales in the third quarter on the back of stronger natural gas prices and the completion of its merger with BHP’s petroleum business.
The LNG developer also revised production guidance upward after its $40 billion merger with BHP’s petroleum assets completed in June. Full year production guidance was raised 3% to between 153 million barrels of oil equivalent to 157MMboe.
Output at t 51.2 million barrels of oil equivalent for the third quarter was up 52% from the June quarter and more than double the same quarter a year ago.
Revenues jumped 70% from the previous quarter to $5.9 billion in the September quarter, a significant increase from the $1.6 billion reported over the same period a year ago as BHP’s assets were digested.
Woodside said it was using the returns to reinvest in new supply, highlighting the $16.5 billion Scarborough gas development in Western Australia, the Sangomar oil project in Senegal and new opportunities under consideration such as the Trion oil project in Mexico and hydrogen projects in the US and Australia.
Woodside reported an average price of $32.70 per million British thermal units on LNG sold from its trading portfolio, almost four times the level of a year earlier and the equivalent of $207 per barrel of oil equivalent.
Overall, Woodside received an average price for its output of $102 per barrel of oil equivalent, including $117/boe for its own LNG production.
Regarding its Scarborough LNG project, Woodside said talks were continuing to bring in an equity partner. The development in Western Australia was 21% finished at the end of the quarter, while Sangomar was 70% complete.