Woodside 2014 profit climbs 38 percent

Australia’s LNG player Woodside reported net profit after tax of US$2.414 billion, and a record underlying NPAT of US$2.421 billion in 2014, underpinned by record production of 95.1 MMboe and operating revenue of US$7.435 billion.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said the results reflected Woodside’s rigorous approach to improving facility reliability and achieving cost savings across the business.

Our 2014 reported profit increased 38 per cent on the previous year, reflecting record production and higher realised prices. Our focus on lowering cost structures is evidenced in unit production costs decreasing. Continuous improvement in driving business efficiencies will remain our priority in the current challenging market conditions,” he said.

Coleman said the company had significantly progressed its global growth strategy throughout the year, rebalancing its exploration portfolio, developing marketing and trading opportunities and through the proposed acquisition of key Apache interests.

We have made significant progress in building our global exploration portfolio in emerging petroleum provinces in parallel with increasing supply optionality for customers. The world-class Wheatstone, Balnaves and Kitimat interests will provide value-enhancing opportunities that complement our existing portfolio.

Woodside reaffirmed its 2015 production target range of 84 to 91 MMboe. This range does not include production from the Apache asset purchase which is expected to be 3 to 4 MMboe3 based on a targeted transaction close date of 31 March, the company said in a statement.

The additional range reflects the inclusion of Balnaves oil production and Kitimat pipeline natural gas production, split approximately 55% Balnaves oil and 45% Kitimat pipeline natural gas.

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Image: Woodside