Woodside profit jumps 6pc to record as strike threat builds

afr.com:

Woodside Energy has posted a 6 per cent increase in first-half profit to a record, buoyed by an increase in oil and gas production to an all-time high after the merger with BHP’s petroleum business in June last year.

Bottom-line net income rose to $US1.74 billion ($2.71 billion) in the six months ended June 30, from $US1.64 billion in the first half of 2022, while net profit excluding one-offs rose 4 per cent to $US1.9 billion.

The Perth-based oil and gas producer declared an interim dividend of US80¢ per share, down 27 per cent from $US1.09 at the same time a year earlier when the payout was boosted by a completion payment on the BHP deal.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said the death of a worker on an offshore platform in early June overshadowed the “strong” financial and operating performance in the half. She said investigations were ongoing, but Woodside had made changes to operational practices based on early findings.

Ms O’Neill pointed to progress on new projects during the June half, including a final investment decision on the large Trion oil project offshore Mexico, and on the next phase of gas development on fields off the West Australian coast to supply the partly owned Wheatstone LNG project.

The result comes after Woodside earlier this month inked a $US880 million deal with two Japanese trading houses who will buy into the company’s $16.5 billion Scarborough LNG project in Western Australia. The transaction is a vote of confidence in the controversial project, which is still seeking secondary environmental approvals and faces several legal challenges.

It also comes amid a heightened risk of industrial action at the Woodside-run North West Shelf offshore platforms, with a critical meeting with unions