Higher production boosts Woodside’s 2018 profit

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum on Wednesday reported a 28 percent jump in profit as production rose in 2018 to 91.4 mmboe. 

Profit after tax reached $1.36 billion, the company said in its report with Woodside’s CEO Peter Coleman adding that the rise was “driven by robust operational performance throughout 2018 and improved market conditions.”

“During the year we achieved a number of significant milestones in our plans to develop the Scarborough and Browse fields off Western Australia through our world-class facilities on the Burrup Peninsula,” Coleman said.

He noted that the company’s plans for the Burrup Hub will more than double Woodside’s equity LNG production by 2027.

Woodside has already selected an expansion concept for Pluto LNG and begun engineering work on the second production train. The facility hit 5 million tons of production in 2018, a 5 percent increase over the previous year.

The company set its 2019 production guidance between 88 and 94 mmboe, with LNG production reaching 70-73 mmboe for the year.

Coleman added that for 2019, Woodside is planning to start production at Greater Enfield while also preparing final investment decisions in 2020 for Scarborough, Pluto LNG train 2 and Browse projects.