Woodside has recorded full-year net profit after tax (NPAT) of US$1,983 million. Production was 91.1 MMboe and operating cash flow was $3,792 million.

The directors have declared a final dividend of US 105 cents per share (cps), bringing the full-year fully franked dividend to US 135 cps. The dividend is based on the underlying NPAT of $1,620 million.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said 2021 was a transformative year in which the foundations were laid for the company’s future.

“Woodside ended 2021 in a strong financial position. Our higher underlying full-year profit of $1,620 million and free cash flow of $851 million reflected our consistent operational performance, the improved price environment for our products and the proactive decisions made to manage our sales portfolio.

“The value-creating decisions taken in 2021 are expected to transform Woodside, consolidate our financial strength, diversify our portfolio and enable us to thrive through the energy transition.

“November 2021 could be recorded as the most remarkable month in Woodside’s 67-year history, with the agreement to merge with BHP’s petroleum business and the final investment decisions on the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects.

“Our agreement to merge with BHP‘s petroleum business is expected to create a global energy company which would have the cash generation and balance sheet strength to deliver shareholder returns through economic cycles, opportunities to realise ongoing synergies and greater capacity to participate in the energy transition.

“Completion of the merger is targeted for early June 2022, subject to a shareholder vote on the transaction targeted for 19 May 2022.

“The significant cash flow generated by the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects is expected to provide returns to shareholders and help fund Woodside’s future developments and new energy investments.

“An important consequence of November’s final investment decisions is an increase of over 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent in Woodside’s Proved plus Probable (2P) Total Reserves.

“In January 2022, Woodside completed the sale of a 49% non-operating interest in Pluto Train 2, welcoming Global Infrastructure Partners into the project.

“Scarborough gas developed through Pluto Train 2 will be among the lowest carbon intensity sources of LNG delivered to north Asia, where customers are demanding lower-carbon energy to support their own emissions reduction targets. The first cargo is targeted for 2026.

“Execution of the Sangomar Field Development in Senegal is proceeding to schedule with the first well drilled and FPSO conversion activities ongoing. The subsea installation campaign is expected to commence in early 2022 and the project is on track for first oil in 2023.

“Our Australian project teams achieved start-up of Julimar-Brunello Phase 2 and the first phase of the Pyxis Hub ahead of schedule and under budget. Construction of the Pluto-KGP Interconnector was completed, with start-up planned for the first quarter of 2022.

“We had a reserves downgrade on Julimar-Brunello and a reserves revision on the Greater Pluto region following the completion of integrated subsurface studies incorporating 4D seismic and well performance data.

“Our safety performance was disappointing, with our total recordable injury rate increasing to 1.74 per million work hours, in a year otherwise characterised by strong sustainability performance. Our focus for 2022 will be on returning to leading personal safety performance.

“In 2021 Woodside strengthened our commitment to play a part in the world’s decarbonisation journey, both by reducing our net equity Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and advancing our plans to invest in the lower-carbon sources of energy our customers are seeking, such as hydrogen and ammonia.

“Through the year we made progress with our proposed hydrogen projects H2Perth, H2TAS and H2OK, and launched studies of large-scale solar energy and carbon capture and storage in Western Australia.

“These proposals are initial steps in our strategy to position Woodside as an early mover in the sector through our targeted $5 billion investment in new energy products and lower-carbon services by 2030,” she said.

Financial headlines

• NPAT of $1,983 million, up 149%
• Underlying NPAT of $1,620 million, up 262%
• Operating revenue of $6,962 million, up 93%
• Operating cash flow of $3,792 million, up 105%
• Free cash flow of $851 million
• Annual sales volume 111.6 MMboe
• Realised price of $60.3 per boe
• Unit production cost of $5.3 per boe
• Cash on hand of $3,025 million
• Liquidity at year-end of $6,125 million
• Net debt at year-end of $3,772 million and gearing of 21.9%
• Declared a fully-franked final dividend of US 105 cps, bringing the full-year dividend to US 135 cps

Key business activities

Strategic achievements

• Agreed merger with BHP’s petroleum business
• Achieved final investment decisions for the Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 projects
• Completed sell-down of Pluto Train 2 in January 2022
• Announced $5 billion investment target for new energy products and lower-carbon services

Operations

• Delivered annual production of 91.1 MMboe
• Maintained strong operated LNG reliability of 97.7%
• Delivered 14% reduction in underlying NWS Project operating costs
• Completed significant planned turnaround activity at NWS Project
• Achieved start-up of Pyxis Hub and Julimar-Brunello Phase 2 ahead of schedule and under budget

KeyFacts Energy: Woodside Australia country profile