Australia: Woodside Q3 Sales Up 27 Percent

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia’s second-largest oil and gas producer, said third-quarter sales rose 27 percent driven by higher prices.

Sales gained to $1.31 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30, from $1.03 billion a year earlier, Perth-based Woodside said today in a statement. Production fell 12 percent to 16.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, it said

Woodside, led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Coleman who took control in May, plans to develop an estimated $75 billion ($78 billion) in Australian liquefied natural gas projects with partners including BP Plc. Output in the quarter dropped, partly because of shutdowns at the North West Shelf project and lower volumes at the Enfield and Laminaria-Corallina fields, it said.

“Woodside’s 2011 production target remains between 62 and 64 million barrels of oil equivalent,” the company said.

Woodside rose 2 percent to A$34.28 in Sydney trading. It has dropped 20 percent this year.

The first cargo from the Pluto liquefied natural gas project is scheduled for March next year and talks continue for its expansion, Woodside said.

(bloomberg)

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Source: bloomberg, October 21, 2011; Image: woodside