PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Oil and gas major Woodside has reported steady production in the three months to March, compared with the previous corresponding period, with revenues rising 4%.

Woodside on Thursday reported a production of 21.7-million barrels of oil equivalent, compared with the 22.1-million barrels in the previous corresponding period, with sales revenue rising from A$1.16-billion to A$1.22-billion over the same period. 

“Woodside’s revenue increased 4% compared with the previous corresponding period in 2018 due to higher realised prices. Despite disruptions to operations from cyclone activity, our cyclone preparedness ensured safety was maintained and the impact on production was minimized,” said CEO Peter Coleman.

He told shareholders that significant progress was also made on plans to develop the Burrup Hub, including signing a heads of agreement (HoA) with ENN Group for the development of the Scarborough gas resource through an expansion of the Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.

“Our Horizon II growth plans continue to progress this quarter with the award of several contracts for Scarborough and the first phase of the SNE development offshore Senegal.

“The ten-year HoA signed in Shanghai with ENN Group is expected to start in 2025 and is evidence of global demand for long-term LNG supply from our proposed Burrup Hub. This HoA with a growing Chinese gas distributor and retailer is in addition to the 20-year sale and purchase agreement for domestic gas supply we signed with Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers in November last year.”

Coleman said that Woodside was also pioneering the development of new domestic markets for LNG in Western Australia, with its new truck loading facility at Pluto LNG completed in March.

The facility will supply LNG for use in remote power generation and transport in the Pilbara and beyond, reducing regional emissions by replacing diesel.

“We also reached a significant milestone in March with the start of domestic gas production at Wheatstone,” Coleman said.

With capacity to supply 200 TJ/d of natural gas, Wheatstone’s domestic gas will supply local households and businesses through contracts with Western Australia customers for decades.