Woodside Energy has signalled it is targeting annual growth in production of more than 4 per cent from 2023 through to 2027 thanks to new projects, coming off the lower-than-expected production guidance for next year given earlier this week.
It said payback on new oil and gas projects would be quicker than for the “new energy” area it was targeting through emerging products such as hydrogen, putting payback on “new energy” at within 10 years, compared to five years for oil projects and seven years for gas. The outlook is the first full briefing by Woodside since it roughly doubled in size in June as it absorbed BHP’s petroleum business, which catapulted it into the ranks of the world’s top 10 independent oil and gas producers.
The company said demand for oil and gas is “expected to remain strong to 2050+” despite the push to net-zero emissions. Woodside reiterated its climate targets, including a 15 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025, rising to 30 per cent by 2030 and an “aspiration” to be net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.