Oz Woodside Reports $4bn H1 Loss

Woodside on August 13 announced a net loss of $4.07bn (A$5.67bn) in the six months to June 30 (H1), principally due to the $3.92bn impairment losses and onerous contract provision announced last month. The company had reported a net profit of $419mn in H1 of last year.

Underlying net profit after tax, which strips out one-off items, was $303mn compared with $419mn in the year ago period. Production in H1 was 50.1mn boe, up from 39mn boe is the same period of last year, Woodside said.

“In response to the pandemic and lower oil and gas prices we have taken the difficult decisions needed to guarantee the financial integrity of Woodside’s business: cutting planned total expenditure in 2020 by 50% and delaying final investment decisions (FIDs) on our Scarborough, Pluto Train 2 and Browse developments,” CEO Peter Coleman said.

Coleman said Woodside remains committed to developing the Scarborough and Browse gas resources through the proposed Burrup Hub and has continued work on commercial agreements and regulatory approvals to ensure it is ready to take FIDs when investment conditions improve.

The company has kept its production guidance for 2020 unchanged at 97-103mn boe.