Things are looking good, Woodside Petroleum says

PERTH, Australia, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Deals emerging since the start of a rough year were a net positive for Australian energy company Woodside, which offered good output and financial results.

"We set a number of production records this quarter driven by excellent liquefied natural gas capacity and reliability, which contributed to a 20 percent quarter-on-quarter revenue increase," CEO Peter Coleman said in a statement.

Woodside said total sales revenue of $988 million was up 19.8 percent from the previous quarter, but lower year-on-year by 9 percent. Third quarter production, meanwhile, was up 13 percent from the previous quarter and relatively flat when compared with the same period last year.

The company is Australia's biggest independent oil and gas producer. Coleman in early 2016 said patience and discipline were needed as crude oil prices dropped to historic lows. As prices recovered, by July he said a turnaround was expected by the third quarter.

Woodside said breakthroughs in technology slated for the Greater Enfield projects off the coast of Western Australia made investing nearly $2 billion during the weak market for oil justifiable. The estimated 69 million barrels of oil equivalent will be exploited using an offshore floating production, storage and offloading vessel. First oil is expected from Enfield by the middle of 2019.

In February, the company acquired a 65 percent interest in a production-sharing contract offshore Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. The company said that deal alone meant it increased its best estimate of contingent resources by 230 percent.

The Wheatstone LNG development, a flagship project for the company, is expected to start operations by the middle of next year.

As a result, Woodside raised its full-year production estimate to between 92 million and 95 million barrels of oil equivalent, up from the previous range of 90 million to 95 million boe.