The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is trading lower on Thursday morning.
At the time of writing, the energy producer's shares are down 1.5% to $22.86.
Why is the Woodside share price trading lower?
The Woodside share price has come under pressure today following a pullback in oil prices overnight and the release of its second quarter update which appears to have fallen a touch short of expectations.
According to the release, for the three months ended 30 June, Woodside reported a 4% quarter on quarter decline in production of 22.7 MMboe. This was due to scheduled maintenance activities and adverse weather impacts. These were partially offset by a strong quarterly performance at its Pluto operation.
However, thanks to a 9% increase in delivered sales volume to 28.1 MMboe and higher prices, Woodside revealed a 15% quarter on quarter increase in sales revenue to $1,285 million.
Management commentary
Woodside's Acting CEO, Meg O'Neill, commented: "Revenue from oil sales during the period was higher than the first quarter supported by an above-market average realised price of $75/barrel, while revenue from LNG sales climbed 14%."
O'Neill also spoke about the work the company has down at Sangomar during the quarter. She said: "Work on our Sangomar Field Development Phase 1 offshore Senegal continued on schedule during the quarter and the project is now nearly one-third complete. In July, the first of two drilling vessels arrived in Senegal and the drilling campaign commenced for the project's 23 wells."
In addition, the Acting CEO revealed that Woodside is now testing the market for value-accretive opportunities.
She explained: "We have launched the formal sell-down process for up to 49% of our equity in Pluto Train 2. In parallel we have commenced a process to test the market for value-accretive opportunities to reduce our equity in the Scarborough resource. We are reviewing project cost estimates following extensive engagement with our contractors over recent months in the lead up to the investment decision."
Following today's decline, the Woodside share price is now in negative territory year to date.
