Oz Woodside Sees Drop in H1 Profit
Australian Woodside August 15 reported a decline in net profit for the six months to June (H1 2019) as production dropped owing to extended maintenance period at Pluto LNG and cyclone Veronica.
Net profit during the aforementioned period was US$419mn versus US$541mn in the same period of previous year. Production during H1 was 39mn barrels of oil equivalent as against 44.3mn boe in the same period last year. Revenue during H1 was US$2.26bn versus US$2.38bn in H1 of last year.
“First half NPAT [net profit after tax] was lower compared to the corresponding period due to the impact of tropical cyclone Veronica, the planned maintenance at Pluto LNG, and the Ngujima-Yin floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility being offline for refurbishment in Singapore ahead of its restart at Greater Enfield,” CEO Peter Coleman said.
Pluto LNG delivered 14.2mn boe of production in the half (Woodside share). The facility’s first major turnaround since startup in 2012 was completed in Q2 2019 to support continued safe, reliable and efficient production, resulting in lower production for the half, the company said.
According to Woodside, Greater Sunrise production sharing contract negotiations with the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia are ongoing. The existing Sunrise titles, including the Australian retention leases in the Eastern Greater Sunrise offshore area, will continue to govern operations in the area until such time as a new production sharing contract is agreed, it said. The 2018 treaty between Australia and Timor-Leste establishing their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea is expected to enter into force in H2 2019, Woodside said.
In April, government of Timor-Leste (East Timor) completed the purchase of ConocoPhillips' 30% interest and Shell Australia's 26.56% interest in the Greater Sunrise fields, giving Timor Gap, the national oil company of Timor-Leste, a 56.56% interest in the fields. Woodside operates the undeveloped Greater Sunrise project with a 33.44% interest, while the other non-state partner is Japan's Osaka Gas with 10%.