Woodside output and sales fall

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian oil and gas producer Woodside has reported lower production and sales revenue in the three months ended March, as the North West Shelf asset, in Western Australia, delivered lowered oil volumes.

Volumes decreased from the Vincent field owing to field decline, and at the Balnaves field, which ceased oil production in March. This was partially offset by higher pipeline gas volumes from Canada, as a result of additional wells starting production during the quarter.

During the three months to March, Woodside produced 23.7-million barrels of oil equivalent, down from the 24.9-million barrels delivered in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Sales volumes for the period also declined from 25.2-million to 24.2-million, while sales revenue decreased from A$1.1-billion to A$982-million.

Woodside told shareholders on Wednesday that the declining revenues reflected not only the decreased sales volumes during the quarter, but also lower global oil and gas prices.

CEO Peter Coleman said that despite the lower production during the first quarter, Woodside was progressing well with its low-cost high-value growth strategy.

“We are taking advantage of market conditions and applying latest technology to reduce life cycle costs further enhancing our position as a low-cost operator. This will also improve project concepts to deliver a portfolio of globally competitive decision-ready projects,” Coleman said.

During the quarter, Woodside suspended the development of the Browse liquefied natural gas project, offshore Western Australia, after completing the front-end engineering and design work of the project.

The decision not to proceed with the development of the project fell within Woodside’s targeted modus operandi of a disciplined approach to large-scale capital investments.