Woodside Petroleum (Seite 23)

[1435905]

Woodside Petroleum Q3 Sales Revenue Up 46%, Again Lifts Production Outlook

Australian oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEF.PK, WOPEY.PK, WPL.AX) on Thursday reported a 46 percent surge in sales revenue for the third quarter from last year, helped by higher production and sales volumes. Buoyed by the results, the company once again raised its production outlook for 2014.

The company's sales revenue for the third quarter grew 46 percent to $1.96 billion from $1.34 billion in the year-ago period, primarily due to additional oil volumes sold from the floating production and storage offloading vessel or FPSO at its Vincent oil field off the coast of Western Australia, and higher realized prices for Pluto LNG volumes sold.

Production volume for the quarter increased 15.1 percent to 25.2 million barrels of oil equivalent or MMboe from 21.9 MMboe in the year-ago period, while sales volume grew 17.2 percent to 24.5 Mmboe.

The increase in production and sales volume reflect higher LNG reliability at NWS and Pluto as well as the re-start of the Vincent FPSO in late 2013.

Looking ahead, Woodside Petroleum once again raised its production target for 2014 to a range of 93 Mmboe to 95 Mmboe from the prior range of 89 MMboe to 94 MMboe, citing its continued strong operating performance across all assets.

On the Australian stock exchange, Woodside Petroleum shares are currently trading at A$39.11, up A$0.11 or 0.28 on a volume of 1.81 million shares.

Quelle: dpa-AFX

[1435905]

Kräftige Erhöhung der Dividende:



Woodside Petroleum erzielt im ersten Halbjahr Rekordgewinn von 1,1 Mrd. USD


Steigende Preise und ein höherer Absatz haben der australischen Woodside Petroleum (WKN 855377) im ersten Halbjahr 2014 zu einem Rekordgewinn verholfen.

Der Öl- und Gasproduzent erzielte in den sechs Monaten bis Ende Juni einen Nettogewinn von 1.105 Mrd. USD, was einen Anstieg von 26,6% im Vergleich zum Vorjahreszeitraum bedeutet und die Erwartungen der Analysten erfüllt. Den Umsatz der ersten Jahreshälfte bezifferte Woodside mit 3,551 Mrd. USD, das sind 24,3% mehr als im Vorjahr.

Der Konzern kündigte zudem an, am 24. September allen zum 29. August registrierten Aktionären eine Dividende von 1,11 USD zu zahlen.

Anfang August allerdings musste Woodside eine peinliche Niederlage einstecken, als die Aktionäre das geplante Aktienrückkaufprogramm des Konzerns, das einen Wert von 2,68 Mrd. Dollar haben sollte, ablehnten. Nur 72% der Aktionäre stimmten für die Maßnahme, 75% Zustimmung aber wurden benötigt.

Im Juli hatte Woodside Petroleum seine Produktionsprognose für das Gesamtjahr angehoben, nachdem ein starker Anstieg bei Produktion und Umsatz für das zweite Quartal gemeldet werden konnte.

[1435905]

Woodside buys into Africa offshore deal


AAP – Mon, Aug 11, 2014 1:28 PM AEST
Woodside Petroleum has bought a 40 per cent stake in a joint venture deep water exploration project off west Africa.

The deal with US energy giant Noble Energy means Woodside has secured an interest in exploration, exploitation and production acreage off the coast of Gabon.

The Perth-based company did not disclose the value of the deal in which Noble Energy will hold a 60 percent interest and will be the operator.

The offshore acreage is 140 kilometres off the south-western coast of Gabon and covers more than 2,700 kilometres in water depths of between 2,300 to 3,000 metres.

Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman said the deal was an opportunity for his company to secure significant acreage in an emerging oil-prone province with a "like-minded and experienced partner".

"This is yet another exciting opportunity for us in Africa, building on recent acquisitions in Tanzania and Morocco," Mr Coleman said.

He said the opportunity was a good fit for Woodside's core capabilities in deepwater exploration.

The announcement comes almost a fortnight after Woodside shareholders scuttled a $US2.7 billion ($A2.92 billion) plan to remove Royal Dutch Shell from the company's share register.

In May, Woodside abandoned its $US2.7 billion Leviathan joint venture gas deal in Israel after negotiations with Noble Energy.

The Leviathan project was one of only two major long-term growth prospects for the company, with the other being Browse in Western Australia.

[1435905]

Woodside Holders Reject $2.7 Billion Buyback Plan With Shell

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL)’s $2.7 billion plan to buy back stock from Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) was blocked by shareholders, leaving Europe’s largest oil company with a larger, unwanted stake in the Australian gas producer.

Woodside investors cast 72 percent of their votes in support of the buyback, short of the 75 percent needed, according to a company statement after a shareholder meeting in Perth. The stock fell 1.9 percent to A$41.71 as of 2:35 p.m. Sydney time. The benchmark index declined 1.5 percent.

The rejection spoils part of Shell’s plan to raise $5 billion by trimming most of what was a 23 percent stake in Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas company. Speculation that The Hague-based energy giant would sell its remaining holding has weighed on Woodside’s share price.

“The overhang is a tangible cap on Woodside’s share price performance,” Andrew Williams, a Melbourne-based analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said today by phone before the shareholder meeting. “It doesn’t look as though there’s a Plan B.”

Woodside, which faced investor concerns that Shell was getting preferential treatment, may opt to offer a buyback to all shareholders, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. That may still leave Shell’s stake at about 11 percent, UBS AG said.

Shell holds about 13.5 percent of Woodside, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shell in June sold 78.3 million shares to investors at A$41.35 each, about a 3.5 percent discount to Woodside’s June 16 closing price, the day before the buyback was announced.

Capital Position
Woodside will review its capital position, Chairman Michael Chaney said today at the shareholder meeting.

“An equal-access, off-market buyback would involve less certainty regarding the price and quantum of the buyback depending on shareholder participation and would not provide an orderly reduction of Shell’s shareholding,” he said.

The buyback was a great deal for Shell because of the generous allocation of franking credits, which reduce an investor’s tax bill, and with Woodside trading at three-year highs, Macquarie analysts wrote in a report last month.

Shell said yesterday that it would take time to evaluate its options if Woodside shareholders blocked the transaction. While the company didn’t depend on the deal going through, the stake isn’t strategic, Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry reiterated on an earnings conference call.

[1435905]

Woodside Petroleum Q2 Sales Revenue Up 25%, Lifts 2014 Production Outlook

CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australian oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WOPEF.PK, WOPEY.PK, WPL.AX) on Thursday reported a 25 percent increase in sales revenue for the second quarter from last year, helped by higher production and sales volumes. Buoyed by the results, the company raised its production outlook for 2014.

The company's sales revenue for the second quarter rose 25 percent from the year-ago period to $1.68 billion, primarily due to additional volumes sold from the floating production and storage offloading vessel or FPSO at its Vincent oil field off the coast of Western Australia, and higher realized price for Pluto LNG volumes sold.

Meanwhile, the average Brent price for the second quarter was $109.76 per barrel, up 6 percent from $103.55 per barrel in the year-ago period.

Production volume for the quarter increased 18 percent to 23.5 million barrels of oil equivalent or MMboe from 20.0 MMboe in the year-ago period, while sales volume grew 6 percent to 21.5 MMboe.

The increase in production and sales volume reflect the production at Pluto LNG and the re-start of the Vincent FPSO in late 2013.

Looking ahead, Woodside Petroleum raised its production target for 2014 to a range of 89 MMboe to 94 MMboe, from the prior range of 86 MMboe to 93 MMboe, citing its strong operating performance with production on or above plan.

Woodside anticipates LNG processing revenue in the first half-year for the period ending June 30, 2014 in a range of $90 million and $100 million, before tax. The company also forecasts a pre-tax loss of $20 million to $40 million on the sale of non-core assets during the half year.

Woodside is scheduled to announce its half-year results on August 20. The company will hold an extraordinary general meeting on August 1, 2014 in Perth, Australia, to consider its proposed buy back of 78.27 million of its own shares from Shell Energy Holdings Australia Ltd., a unit of European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-A, RDSA.L, RDSB.L, RDS-B).

On the Australian stock exchange, Woodside Petroleum shares are currently trading at A$42.04, up A$0.42 or 1.01 percent on a volume of 2.01 million shares.

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

© 2014 AFX News

[1435905]

Woodside Q1 production lifts


Woodside Petroleum has reported a 5 per cent lift in production in the March quarter, in line with market expectations, while sales and revenue also rose.

Woodside reported production of 23.0 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) in the three months to March 31, compared with 21.9 MMboe in the previous corresponding period.

A Bloomberg survey of three analysts provided a median forecast of 22.9 Mmboe.

Sales lifted by 6.9 per cent to 23.2 MMboe in the quarter, from 21.7 MMboe in the previous corresponding period.

Woodside attributed the lift in production and sales to the restart of the Vincent oil project.

Revenue rose by 15.9 per cent to $US1.675 billion ($A1.785 billion), compared with $US1.445 billion in the March 2013 quarter.

The Bloomberg survey predicted revenue of $US1.7 billion.

The lift in revenue was mainly due to additional oil volumes sold and higher realised prices for liquefied natural gas from the Pluto project.

Talks continue with joint venture partners and the Israeli government over the Leviathan gas field project, Woodside said.

This follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the project in February, although Woodside noted that the parties have not executed the agreements contemplated in the memorandum.

Earlier, media reports suggested Woodside was close to a compromise with the Israeli government over tax arrangements for the project.

Woodside said it continued to undertake studies for the floating LNG Browse project during the quarter, which joint venture partners require in order to consider starting front-end engineering in the second half of 2014.

A draft environmental impact statement for the project is expected to be available for public review in the second half, Woodside said.

[1435905]

Ich habe zeitgleich mit dem Kauf von Woodside meine restlichen BP-Aktien veräußert.
Mal schauen wer von beiden sich in den kommenden Jahren besser entwickelt...

[1435905]

10:24 pm
Jan 16, 2014
Has Woodside Paved the Way for Shell’s Exit?

Woodside Petroleum Ltd.'s decision not to drag fresh impairments into its dividend calculation is good news for yield-hunting investors. It may also make the timing ripe for Royal Dutch Shell to exit its investment in Australia’s second-biggest oil and gas producer.

Woodside this week guided investors to expect impairments for fiscal 2013 of up to US$400 million, which includes adjustments for the carrying values of certain projects and the amortization of other assets.

While that figure is considerably higher than the US$218 million that analysts at UBSUBSN.VX +0.90% had anticipated, they reckon Woodside’s decision not to include the impairments in its dividend calculation gives it the headroom to increase the final payout by 15 cents a share.

According to UBS analysts Nik Burns and Cameron Hardie, that should mean a second-half dividend of US$1.16 a share and a full-year dividend yield of 5.8% rising to 6.8% for 2014. On top of that, there should be plenty of investor appetite for a stock generating this sort of yield over the next few years.

And that may entice Shell to sell its 23.1% stake.

Shell has previously said it isn’t a long-term investor in Woodside. Messrs. Burns and Hardie think the timetable for a sale will be driven by price or a need to use the funds elsewhere.

Shell has loomed large over Woodside’s share register since its hostile 10 billion Australian dollar (US$8.8 billion) bid for the two-thirds of the Australian company it didn’t already own was rejected by Australian lawmakers in 2001 on national-interest grounds. Speculation that Shell wanted out heightened in late 2011 when it sold a 10% interest in the Perth-based company for about US$3.3 billion.

“Our view is that Shell should take the opportunity presented by the anticipated rise in the full-year dividend to sell its holding,” Messrs. Burns and Hardie said in their report.

They noted that Ben van Beurden, who began as chief executive of Shell at the start of the month, is unlikely to be wed to the company’s ownership of the Woodside stake, which would make a decision to sell easier for him to make.

And if Shell is valuing Woodside in U.S. dollar terms, that won’t be helped by the strengthening of the greenback even as the Australian government and central bank remain keen for the Aussie to go lower, the analysts said.

At the same time the sale of the Woodside stake is a relatively fast and simple divestment option for Shell, which is most likely to seek to offload the shares in one hit and probably would turn to a range of institutional investors globally, Messrs Burns and Hardie said.

A spokesman for Shell declined to comment on the company’s plans for its Woodside stake.

Woodside’s shares are currently trading at about A$38.90, having recovered from an initially weak start to 2014. That’s still shy of the A$42.23 that Shell sold a basket of shares at in 2011, but well above the A$14.20 in cash it was offering when its takeover attempt was thwarted almost 13 years ago.

[1435905]

Einstieg Bein knapp 25 €, jetzt kann der Kurs steigen.

[1435905]

Shell has progressively offloaded its stake in Woodside since 2001.

Woodside Petroleum shares could receive a lift if oil and gas company Shell offloads its stake in Woodside for almost $8 billion.
Royal Dutch Shell, a joint-venture partner in Woodside's Browse project in Western Australia, has previously indicated it will begin an asset sales program under the stewardship of its new chief executive, Ben van Beurden.
JPMorgan analysts in Europe say Shell could reap $US6.95 billion ($A7.82 billion) by selling its 23.1 per cent interest in Woodside.
They say it is feasible that Shell could embark on an overall divestment program, bringing in $US25 billion to $US30 billion during 2014-15.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Andy Williams said any sale would most likely be done in tranches, but it was unclear when it might occur.
''Shell has indicated previously that they're not a long-term holder so I think it probably overhangs the share price from an investor's point of view,'' Mr Williams said.
''Reducing it to below 10 per cent or divesting it in its entirety is probably beneficial for Woodside in terms of the market investment opportunity.''
Some institutions have been cautious about investing in Woodside, fearing a Shell sell-down could lead to a discount in the company's share price.
Shell has progressively reduced its stake in Woodside since its $10 billion takeover bid for the company was rejected by then treasurer Peter Costello on national interest grounds in 2001.
Shell's recent underperformance has also fuelled speculation about imminent asset sales.
Still, analysts say a move by Shell to exit the Woodside share register would be unlikely to affect the company's growth ambitions in WA, or further afield in Israel.
Shell has recently been working on a floating LNG (FLNG) option with Woodside for the Browse offshore gas project.
But Mr Williams said Woodside's FLNG ambitions and an exit by Shell are separate issues.
''They'll look at their direct project investments on a stand-alone basis,'' he said.
It comes a day after Woodside said it would push ahead with plans to jointly sell gas from its proposed Browse project despite a Japanese partner terminating a 1.5 million tonne liquefied natural gas deal.
Woodside and its joint-venture partners recently decided to pursue a floating LNG option for Browse.