Australian Woodside’s Sales up on Quarter in Q3, Down on Year
Australian oil and gas major Woodside Energy saw its sales revenue and volumes grow quarter on quarter in Q3, while its Pluto LNG project set production records during the period, the company said October 19.
Woodside’s sales revenue climbed from (USD) $866.8 million in Q2 to $914.1 million in Q3, but fell short of last year’s Q3 revenue of $987.5 million, according to its quarterly report.
Likewise, sales volumes saw quarter on quarter growth while falling year on year. In Q3 sales were 21.07mn boe, up from 20.29mn boe from Q2, but down from the 25.42mn boe sold in Q3 last year.
However, production stood at 20.31mn boe in Q3, down on both the 20.71mn boe seen in Q2 and the 25.21mn boe of Q3 2016, the results showed.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Ben Wilson said it was a “relatively solid” quarter for Woodside, with production, sales, and revenue all a little under the bank’s forecasts.
“Received LNG pricing for both [North West Shelf (NWS)] and Pluto LNG was 5% to 6% below our forecasts, which was the primary driver of the 4% revenue miss relative to our expectations,” he said.
Woodside’s realised product prices for NWS was unchanged quarter on quarter at $6.6mn Btu, up from the $5.3/mn Btu achieved in Q3 last year. For Pluto LNG they fell from $8.1/mn Btu both quarter on quarter and year on year to $7.9/mn btu.
“The period marked further strong operational performance from Pluto LNG. For the second quarter in succession, Pluto achieved a number of production records, with production in July 3% higher than the previous high set in the same month of last year,” Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said.
The project achieved daily, weekly and monthly production records during the period, Woodside said.
However, Woodside’s share of LNG production from Pluto was down year on year in Q3, falling from 1.16mn metric tons to 1.06mn mt, the results showed; although Q3 performance was up from the 1.05mn mt seen in Q2.
The company has also cut the top end of its production guidance following a later-than-expected start to its Wheatstone LNG project. It now expects its 2017 production to be 84mn boe-86mn boe, compared to its earlier forecast of 84mn boe-90mn boe.
Wilson said that this reduction was to be expected in the wake of the delayed start to Wheatstone LNG (which saw first production earlier this month after months of delays) and that the revised guidance is in line with that of the bank.
Nathan Richardson