Production gains boost Australian energy company Woodside

Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said Wednesday its second half performance was boosted by strong production gains from international assets.

"Our international exploration strategy is taking shape, with new acreage in Myanmar and our entries into Morocco, Tanzania and Gabon just subsequent to the end of the half-year," Woodside Chief Executive Officer Peter Coleman said in a statement. "We continue to only pursue those opportunities where we see value for our shareholders."

The company reported a half-year profit after tax of $1.1 billion, which it said was supported by a record level of production of 46.5 million barrels of oil equivalent during the first half of the year.

Its second-half statement backs targets established in February, when Woodside said production success from 2013 would be replicated by a full-year 2014 production forecast of an increase to a range of 86 million to 93 million barrels.

Coleman said the production success so far was a testament to the reliability of its asset base.

The company this year pulled out of a plan to buy into the Leviathan gas field off the Israeli coast. Royal Dutch Shell said it was interested in pulling out of a longtime partnership with Woodside in an effort to cut down on costs.