Woodside Expects Drop in 2017 Production

Australian Woodside Petroleum expects its 2017 production to be in the range 84-90mn barrels of oil equivalent compared with 2016 output of 94.9mn boe, the company said January 19.

The Perth based company said its LNG production in 2016 was 63.7mn boe, more than 9% higher than the previous record set in 2014.

It said the 4Q 2016 production dropped 5.5% while sales revenue rose 2% to $1bn compared with the 3Q of 2016 thanks to the higher oil prices. Company’s 4Q output in 2016 reached 23.8mn boe compared with 25.2mn boe in the previous three-month period, Woodside said.

The Wheatstone LNG project first train is expected to start mid-2017 and from second train six to eight months later. All train one and train two modules are set on their foundations while installation of piping, electrical and instrumentation continues as planned, Woodside said. The storage and loading system is ready for commissioning and cool-down, with the LNG storage tanks and export loading jetty now complete.

 “Wheatstone is a key component of our near-term growth strategy and will contribute more than 13mn boe of annual production once both trains are fully operational,” Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said.

Shardul Sharma