Woodside Petroleum disclosed Thursday that it has achieved record production output and sales revenue for the full-year 2012, as the performance of its flagship Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant offshore Western Australia exceed expectations since start up in April last year.
The Perth-based company noted in a statement that its annual output for 2012 is up 31 percent year-on-year at 84.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, while its revenue for the same period increased 30 percent to $6.2 billion.
Coleman added: "It has resulted in a step-change in our annual sales revenues, positioning us to pursue value-adding growth opportunities such as potential LNG developments in Israel and exploration activities in Myanmar."
Woodside is making a series of bold bets on the natural gas front this year, as major economies in Asia – such as Japan and South Korea – move towards incorporating LNG into their fuel mix for power generation.
The company reached an in-principle agreement in December last year to acquire a 30 percent participating interest in the 349/Rachel and 350/Amit petroleum licenses, which contain the mammoth Leviathan gas field offshore Israel.
In the fourth quarter of last year, Woodside's offers to acquire an interest in blocks AD-7 and A-6, offshore Myanmar; were also accepted. Entry into the blocks gives Woodside the opportunity to acquire 3D seismic in 2013/14, with options to drill exploration wells in subsequent exploration periods. AD-7 is operated by South Korea's Daewoo, while A-6 is operated by India's MRPL E&P.
