A surging world oil price and record production volumes have delivered Woodside Petroleum a 52 per cent jump in second-quarter sales revenue.
The strong results have prompted analysts to upgrade their 2008 earnings estimates, with some saying Woodside's liquefied natural gas production growth was the envy of the industry.
Production for the three months to June 30 was 19.3million barrels of oil equivalent, up 14 per cent from 17million barrels of oil equivalent for the previous corresponding period.
This helped push June quarter revenue to $1.475billion, up from $970million in the same quarter last year.
''Revenue was up 52 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year driven by higher commodity prices and additional production,'' Woodside said.
For the 2008 calendar half year, production was up 4 per cent to 36.5million barrels of oil equivalent compared with the same period last, while revenue rose 38 per cent to $2.574billion.
Woodside said its record production performance for the June quarter was supported by the performance of its flagship North West Shelf gas and oil operations and its Stybarrow oilfield, both offshore from Western Australia.
Stybarrow is an equal joint venture with BHP Billiton that was brought on stream two months ahead of schedule last November.
Woodside said output was boosted by the reinstatement of production at the Corallina oilfield in the Timor Sea and Mutineer-Exeter oilfield on the North West Shelf. Repairs were undertaken at the fields in the December quarter.
The company said the production ramp-up was completed at its Otway gas project offshore from Victoria during the June quarter.
Additional production came from the $US277.7million ($A284.4 million) purchase of Shell's North West Shelf Venture oil equity, effective from May 1. The purchase doubled Woodside's participating interest in the Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert and Hermes fields to 33.33 per cent.
Woodside, which is 34 per cent owned by Royal Dutch Shell, said it would start production at its Vincent oilfield in the North West Shelf next month.
Its Angel gas/condensate field, also on the North West Shelf, is on schedule to produce first gas by September.
The fifth production ''train'' at the Woodside-operated Karratha gas processing plant is on schedule for first cargo in the fourth quarter of calendar 2008.
Energy analyst Bernard Picchi, of New York-based Wall Street Access consultancy, said in a report that Train 5 would likely cost $3 billion, 50 per cent higher than Woodside's $2billion estimate in 2005.
Woodside said it would select a preferred location for an LNG plant to process its offshore Browse field in WA during the second half of 2008.
Mr Picchi said Woodside's LNG production growth was the envy of the industry and raised his 2008 earnings estimates for Woodside from $1.938billion to $2.239billion.
Mr Picchi said the Federal Government's surprise budget decision to impose a 30 per cent excise tax on the value of condensate production from the North West Shelf was likely to cost Woodside about $100million each year.
Woodside shares closed $1.05 lower at $58.50. AAP