Woodside profit beats dividend estimates, firm backs interest in Driftwood stake By Reuters

By Himanshi Akhand and Lewis Jackson

(Reuters) – Australian Woodside ( OTC: ) Energy reported a 14 percent drop in half-year profit on Tuesday, hit by low oil prices, but its result and dividend beat market expectations, sending shares up 4 percent.

Chief executive Meg O’Neill said there had been an outpouring of interest in the proposed sale of shares in Driftwood, a US liquefied export project that Woodside will own when it buys US developer Tellurian (NYSE: ) for 1, $2 billion, including debt.

“We are looking at companies that can support with upstream gas supply,” she said, as well as those that are interested in taking over and even just the infrastructure elements of the plant.

Woodside aims to have firm commitments on share sales, if not signed, before making a final investment decision in the first quarter of 2025, O’Neill added.

Woodside also said it would take one of its five LNG trains from the Karratha gas plant offline between late 2024 and mid-2025 as production from the aging field declines.

It posted underlying net profit after tax of $1.63 billion for the six months ended June 30, handily beating the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $1.38 billion.

The company’s shares rose 3.9%.

The profit decline was mainly due to lower oil prices, and Woodside’s average realized price fell to $63 per barrel of oil equivalent from $74 in the corresponding period last year.

Woodside also declared an interim dividend of 69 US cents per share, down from 80 US cents a year earlier, representing 80% of underlying net profit after tax.

The company signaled a payout range of 50% to 80%, and the market had expected a payout of 55 cents.