Cyclone, outages cut Australia’s Woodside output in 1Q

Spanish Market: Natural gas
23/04/25

Australian independent Woodside Energy's LNG output dropped in January-March, because of Cyclone Zelia and the retirement of its North West Shelf's (NWS) 2.5mn t/yr train 2 in late 2024.

Woodside's overall LNG production fell by 14pc from 231,200 b/d in October-December to 213,900 b/d in January-March (see table).

LNG production at Woodside's 14.4mn t/yr NWS project fell by 22pc on the year to near a three-year low of 71,100 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in January-March, as category 5 storm Cyclone Zelia hit the WA coastline in early February.

Woodside's chief officer Meg O'Neil is calling for certainty on the continuation of operations at NWS beyond 2030, as the firm has yet to receive federal consent, after receiving state government approval late last year.

The decision lies with whomever forms government following the federal election on 3 May.

Woodside's 4.9mn t/yr Pluto LNG project offshore Western Australia's production dropped by 11pc on the year to 115,000 b/d in the January-March quarter, because of three unplanned outages, which caused days-long shutdowns.

This comes after a previous unplanned outage in November 2024 caused by a faulty control system, which halted LNG production for seven days. The cause of the outage is under investigation and the company said it will continue to monitor the facility to minimise the risk of future unplanned outages.

Woodside's 13pc interest in Wheatstone remained steady, with production up by 3pc on the year to 26,900 b/d in January-March, from 26,200 b/d in the same period a year earlier.

By Grace Dudley

Woodside LNG production (mn boe)
	NWS	Pluto	Wheatstone*	Total
Jan-Mar '25	6.4	10.4	2.4	19.2
Oct-Dec '24	7.1	11.2	2.5	20.8
Jan-Mar '24	8.2	11.8	2.4	22.3
2024	29.4	46.7	9.3	85.5
2023	32.8	45.6	10.2	88.6
y-o-y % ±	-21.9	-11.3	2.8	-7.5
q-o-q % ±	-10.1	-7.1	-1.5	-13.7
*Woodside controls a 13pc interest in Wheatstone LNG
Source: Woodside

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