Woodside revenue up despite production fall

Energy giant Woodside Petroleum has lifted its first quarter revenue despite a small slide in production.

Woodside produced 23 million barrels of oil equivalent during the March quarter, down 0.9 per cent on the last three months of 2013, mainly due to lower LNG volumes from its Pluto project off the coast of Western Australia.

But production was up 5 per cent compared to the same time a year ago mostly due to the restarting of its floating production facility at its Vincent oil field, also off the WA coast.

Revenue for the three months to March was up 1.6 per cent on the previous quarter, driven by a 0.9 per cent rise in sales volumes resulting from higher production in the December quarter.

However the first quarter revenue was up 15.9 per cent on the same period in 2013 at $US1.67 billion ($A1.79 billion), thanks to higher oil volumes and better LNG prices.

The company meanwhile said it had commenced development of an environmental impact statement for its proposed Browse floating LNG development.

It anticipates that the draft statement will be available for public review and comment in the second half of the year.

Woodside shares were trading 18 cents higher at $39.77 at 9:30am WST.