Australian LNG producer Woodside reported a 228 percent rise in its 2022 net profit on the back of record production and surging prices.
The Perth-based firm, which is now a top 10 global independent energy company by hydrocarbon production after the completion of the merger with BHP’s oil and gas business, reported full-year net profit after tax (NPAT) of $6.5 billion. This compares to $1.62 billion in 2021.
Underlying net profit after tax rose 22 percent to 5.2 billion.
Woodside previously said that its fourth-quarter sales revenue rose 77.6 percent year-on-year to $5.16 billion in the fourth quarter
The firm achieved record full-year 2022 production of 157.7 MMboe, outperforming the production guidance of 153 – 157 MMboe due to strong operational performance in the fourth quarter.
Moreover, Woodside’s average realized oil and gas price of $98.4 per boe in 2022 rose 62 percent.
The company’s directors have determined a final dividend of 144 cents per share (cps), bringing the full-year fully franked dividend to 253 cps.
“Exceptional” results
Woodside’s CEO Meg O’Neill said the company’s strategy delivered “exceptional” results in 2022, reflecting the success of the merger with BHP’s petroleum business, completed at the start of June.
O’Neill said that “outstanding performance” at the company’s LNG assets, which achieved 98.5 percent reliability across the year, underpinned Woodside’s record output.
Furthermore, she said that a total of 9.4 million barrels of oil equivalent was processed via the Pluto-KGP Interconnector, resulting in the supply of 13 additional Pluto LNG cargoes and delivering $1.2 billion of incremental revenue.
In Western Australia, the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects are now 25 percent complete and they remain on track for targeted first LNG production in 2026, according to O’Neill.
“This year we will focus on progressing secondary regulatory approvals, continuing fabrication of Pluto Train 2, and starting work on subsea installation and drilling operations,” she said.
Also, in 2023, Woodside is aiming to progress the company’s pipeline of growth opportunities, including at Trion, offshore Mexico.
“We are also preparing for FID readiness at our H2OK project in Oklahoma in 2023. H2OK would be the first major project to be sanctioned under Woodside’s target to invest $5 billion in new energy products and lower carbon services by 2030,” O’Neill said.