wpl is being coy about mauritania

Intersuisse analyst notes that WPL is not talking up Mauritania -

http://seven.com.au/news/business/121741

Oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd says it expects to boost production in 2006 by 30 per cent as new projects in Australia and Africa come on line.

At a briefing in Sydney Woodside chief executive Don Voelte told investors the company now expected to produce at least 59 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) for calendar 2005, up from the previous forecast of 58 mmboe.

Woodside then expects production to increase by about 30 per cent in 2006 and by another 15 per cent in 2007.

Some of that increase will come from Woodside's Chinguetti field off the Mauritanian coast, which is now expected to begin production within three to four months.

Adding to the total will be the Otway Basin project in Victoria, now due to begin production in mid 2006, and the Enfield project in Western Australia, where gas is expected to flow in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Mr Voelte said Woodside's new projects would deliver growth in cash flow, dividends and margins in coming years.

Woodside chief operating officer Keith Spence told investors the commodities boom was continuing to drive up the costs of materials and services, but that Woodside was managing these costs.

Line pipe prices rose 30 per cent this year, the cost of offshore construction climbed more than 30 per cent and drill rig rates rose by between 100 per cent and 400 per cent in the last 18 months.

"We are seeing cost pressures on our new projects but these pressures are more than offset by oil price increases," he said.

The fifth train expansion at Woodside's North West Shelf joint venture is now underway and the company plans to bring its Pluto field into production in late 2010 and its Browse field soon after that.

Investors heard Woodside was aiming to sell four million tonnes of LNG a year from Pluto to Asia from late 2010 and negotiations had already begun with Asian customers.

Woodside shares closed down 27 cents at $31.98 on Wednesday.

Intersuisse energy analyst Peter Arden said the company was in a strong position but he was surprised it was not talking up its Mauritanian enterprises more.

"I am at a loss to understand just why they are quite so cautious on it all ... it's not their normal style," he said.

"Maybe there is a good reason for that, maybe they have some corporate aspirations that they want to pursue - who knows."

Woodside operates in Mauritania through joint ventures with companies including Hardman Resources and Roc Oil.

Investors at the briefing were told Woodside planned to boost its exploration spend by 45 per cent to $500 million in 2006, doubling the number of exploration wells being drilled to 40.