10 Woodside Petroleum Ltd|Annual Report 2018
CHIEF
EXECUTIVE
OFFICER’S
REPORT
Peter Coleman
Chief Executive Ocer
and Managing Director
Woodside has achieved a lot in 2018, delivering
strong financial results, solid production and
impressive progress on our growth plans.
A successful equity raising early in the year set up our finances
to support a growth phase that is timed well to capture the
emerging global LNG shortfall.
Financially, we have had a very good year in 2018, achieving
a 32% increase in our operating revenue, to $5.2 billion, and a
28% increase in net profit after tax. These strong results were
underpinned by increased production due to the start-up of
major projects, higher prices and discipline on costs.
Looking to 2019, our expected capital requirements are similar
to 2018 as we complete projects while preparing for growth.
Our story began 65 years ago when a new company was formed
and named after a small town in Victoria’s Gippsland Basin.
That junior explorer would go on to develop the North West
Shelf, becoming the pioneer of the LNG industry in Australia.
That spirit is alive and well as we pursue proposals to develop
some 20 to 25 trillion cubic feet of gross dry gas resources
from the Scarborough and Browse fields o Western Australia.
Even as we plan for growth, we remain committed to
excellence in our base business, achieving high reliability and
globally competitive costs of production, while ensuring a
strong safety culture and performance.
Our growth plans will more than double Woodside’s equity
LNG production by 2027 and deliver significant benefits to
shareholders and to the broader community.
The timing is right for these developments and Woodside has
the resources, facilities and expertise to deliver them.
We’ve set ambitious timelines – and have shown in 2018 that
we intend to keep them. Our progress has been aided by the
fact it is a good time to engage leading contractors, early in the
commodity cycle.
We’ve demonstrated our expertise in project delivery, with the
Greater Western Flank Phase 2 Project coming in $630 million
under budget and six months ahead of schedule. Our near-term
growth plans took another step forward as Wheatstone train 2
started up, with production exceeding expectations.