Woodside Petroleum, operator of two LNG plants in Western Australia and a shareholder in a third facility, posted a 4.4 percent increase in first-quarter sales revenue of US$1.22 billion as higher prices made up for lower volumes caused by cyclone disruptions.
Woodside’s quarterly share of one-sixth of production at the North West Shelf plant it operates amounted to 617,164 tonnes and sold for US$318 million, a decline compared with the 667,332 tonnes marketed in the same three months of 2018.
The NWS cargoes were sold at an average price of US$9.4 per million British thermal units versus US$7.8 per MMBtu in the same quarter of 2018.
The Woodside-run Pluto LNG plant achieved output during the quarter of 1.08 million tonnes, slightly lower than 1.10MT logged in the year-ago quarter, and returned revenues of US$591M.
The Pluto cargoes were sold at an average price of US$10.0 per MMBtu compared with US$9.0 per MMBtu in the same quarter of 2018.
The Perth-based company additionally received 271,826 tonnes of LNG from its share of the Wheatstone plant near Onslow in Western Australia. The Wheatstone LNG revenue came to US$108M.
The Wheatstone cargoes were sold at an average price of US$11.9 per million British thermal units compared with US$8.9 per MMBtu in the same quarter of 2018.
Woodside Chief Executive Peter Coleman said there had been significant progress on plans to develop the Burrup Hub, including a supply accord signed with ENN Group of China that further demonstrated market support for the development of the Scarborough gas resource through an expansion of Pluto LNG.
“Woodside’s revenue increased compared with the corresponding period in 2018 due to higher realised prices. Despite disruption to operations from cyclone activity, our cyclone preparedness ensured safety was maintained and the impact on production was minimised,” explained Coleman.
“The ten-year Heads of Agreement signed in Shanghai with ENN Group is expected to start in 2025 and is evidence of global demand for long-term LNG supply from our proposed Burrup Hub,” said the CEO.
“We are pioneering the development of new domestic markets for LNG in Western Australia. Our new truck loading facility at Pluto LNG was completed in March and will supply LNG for use in remote power generation and transport in the Pilbara and beyond, reducing regional emissions through the replacement of diesel fuel,” he added.
“We also reached a significant milestone in March with the start of domestic gas production at Wheatstone,” stated Coleman.
