Photo by: Woodside
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum has reported record half-year after-tax net profit for the six months ended June, underpinned by record production and record operating revenue.
ASX-listed Woodside on Wednesday reported that after-tax net profit had increased by 27% year-on-year to $1.1-billion during the interim period.
The increase in net profit reflected higher realised prices following the transition to the new Pluto pricing regime, as well as higher sales volumes attributed to a full six months of production from the Vincent operation, which came back on line in the fourth quarter of 2013, as well as the increased reliability of the Pluto and North West Shelf operations.
During the six months under review, Woodside produced 46.5-million barrels of oil equivalent, up 11% on the 41.9-million barrels of oil equivalent produced in the first half of 2013.
“Our record production is a testament to our assets’ ongoing reliability,” said Woodside CEO Peter Coleman.
“Our half-year profit was up 27% on the same period last year, reflecting this record production, higher realised prices and increased sales volumes,” he added.
During the interim period, revenue also increased by 24%, to $3.5-billion.
Woodside has set its full-year production target at between 89-million and 94-million barrels of oil equivalent, up from the previous estimate of between 86-million and 93-million barrels.
Coleman pointed out that the company’s exploration focus would also continue with a disciplined evaluation of new opportunities.
“Our international exploration strategy is taking shape, with new acreage in Myanmar and our entries into Morocco, Tanzania and Gabon just subsequent to the end of the half year. We continue to only pursue those opportunities where we see value for our shareholders,” he added.