WOODSIDE Petroleum has reported a seven per cent drop in production in the first quarter of 2010, despite record LNG production from the North West Shelf.
Woodside today posted production of 19.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) in the quarter ended March 31, down from 20.6 mmboe in the prior corresponding quarter in 2009.
It was also five per cent below production in the previous quarter, ending December 31 of 20.2 mmboe.
Woodside said sales revenue of $US1.028 billion ($1.11 billion) was down 10 per cent on the December quarter, but up 43 per cent on the prior corresponding quarter ending March 31, 2009.
Sales volumes both were down by nine per cent, however, on both the preceding quarter and the prior corresponding quarter, at 18.7 mmboe from 20.6 mmbow.
Woodside said, in a statement to the Australian stock exchange, that the fall in production was due to a 46-day maintenance outage at its Stybarrow field, the sale of its Otway assets, off the Victorian coast, and a natural decline in production at Stybarrow, Enfield and Neptune.
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"This was partially offset by record quarterly (liquefied natural gas) LNG production from the North West Shelf Venture," Woodside said.
The fall in sales volumes was attributed to the same reasons as the fall in production.
But sales revenue was up 43 per cent on the prior corresponding quarter, largely as a result of improved commodity prices, Woodside said.
Woodside said its Pluto LNG 1 project was on schedule and on budget as advised on November 20 last year.
The Pluto expansion also was on schedule for front-end engineering and design (FEED) on train 2 and train 3.
"The exploration drilling campaign to support Pluto expansion continues to have success with gas found at Noblige and Larsen during the quarter,'' Woodside said.
The Browse joint venture had selected James Price Point, 60 km north of Broome, as the site to process gas from the Browse Basin gas fields, satisfying a major condition of the Browse retention leases, while the Browse development moved into the basis of design phase.
At Sunrise, the joint venture was completing final diligence in support of concept selection to develop the Greater Sunrise fields.
Work was continuing on schedule and within budget in the redevelopment of the North Rankin field, as it was on the North West Shelf oil FPSO replacement project.
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