SYDNEY, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Woodside Petroleum Limited, Australia's largest oil and gas production producer, has reported a sharp increase in September quarter sales revenue and production, thanks to record volumes at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities.
Woodside's quarterly production released on Thursday for the three months to September 30 surged 13.5 percent to 25.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe), increasing revenue by 19.8 percent to 987.5 million U.S. dollars compared with Q2.
"We set a number of production records this quarter driven by excellent LNG capacity and reliability, which contributed to a 20 percent quarter-on-quarter revenue increase," Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said in a statement.
The better than expected production saw Woodside revise its lower end of the full-year production target up to 92-95 Mboe, its second upwards revision in as many quarters from the original 86-93 Mboe outlook.
Investors cheered the news with shares rising 1.26 percent to 29.67 Australian dollars by 15:05 local time (AEDT), despite production and revenue being lower when compared with the corresponding period last year.
But, Woodside has been on an aggressive merger and acquisition program after withdrawing from an takeover of Oil Search in December 2015, picking up ConocoPhillips' 35 percent stake in a new deep water discovery off Senegal, and half of BHP Billiton's interests in the Timor Sea.
"The agreements to acquire ConocoPhillips' interests in Senegal and half of BHP Billiton's interests in the Scarborough area assets demonstrate Woodside's focus on growth and leverage our deep water capabilities," Coleman said.
