Gas boom fires Santos, Woodside
Australia’s two biggest oil and gas producers Santos and Woodside have reported solid quarterly results as they take advantage of higher prices, with Santos reporting a record $1 billion in free cashflow in the three months to September 30.
Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
Adelaide-based Santos narrowed its production guidance to 103m to 106m barrels, from the 102m to 107m barrels previously forecast.
Production for the quarter was up two per cent to 26.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, compared to the June quarter.
The company had a record $US1 billion in free cashflow for the three months to September 30, taking its total cashflow for the first nine months of the year to $US2.7 billion.
“Energy security is a top priority in our region,” chief executive Kevin Gallagher said.
“Given the ongoing strong customer demand for our product now and into the future, Australia’s role as a major energy-producing nation has never been more important.”
The company said it expected to spend less on capital expenditure this year, in part because it has suspended drilling in the Barossa offshore gas field north of Darwin.
Santos has appealed a Tiwi Islanders’ victory in a Federal Court case over the drilling, with a hearing set for mid-November.
Santos said it expects to spend $1.15b to $1.25b on major projects this year, down from the $1.4b to $1.5b previously forecast.
Woodside on Thursday upgraded its full-year production guidance to 153 million to 157m barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), from the 145m to 153m previously forecast, after producing 51.2m barrels in the three months to September 30.
“”This is our first full quarter following the merger and these results demonstrate the new, expanded Woodside is delivering what we promised: safe, reliable energy from a more diverse portfolio,” said chief executive Meg O’Neill.
Revenue was up 70 per cent to $US5.86 billion ($A9.4b), reflecting both higher production and Woodside selling at higher prices. Woodside sold at an average of $US102 ($A163) per barrel of oil equivalent, up seven per cent from the prior quarter.
O’Neill said work was 21 per cent complete on Woodside’s major project, the Pluto Train 2 near Karratha in WA that will process gas from the Scarborough gas field 375km offshore.
Bechtel finished work on an accommodation village for the project in August and work has begun on fabrication of subsea flowlines.
Woodside is predicting Scarborough will deliver its first LNG cargo in 2026.
-with AAP
