Following a strong final week of trading, the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price finished in the green in February.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy stock closed out January trading for $24.71. Shares hit a closing low for the month of $23.03 on 19 February.
But by market close on 28 February, the Woodside share price had rebounded to $24.77, putting the energy stock up 0.2% for the month.
Now, that's not exactly shooting the lights out. But it's a far cry better than the 4.2% loss posted by the ASX 200 over this same period.
Here's what investors were mulling over in the month just past.
What moved the Woodside share price?
Turning to some headwinds first, the Woodside share price continued to be pressured by a sliding oil price.
Brent crude oil started February trading at US$77 per barrel but lost more than 5% over the month to end February at US$73 per barrel amid signs that global supplies are set to grow faster than global demand.
But investors sent the ASX 200 energy stock up almost 8% in the last week and a half of the month following some strong reports from Woodside.
On 17 February, the company released an update on its global reserves and its recently minted Sangomar project, located offshore in Senegal, which achieved first oil in 2024.
"Sangomar is forecast to continue producing on plateau into the second quarter," CEO Meg O'Neil said of the project, which reached 94% production reliability in the fourth quarter of 2024.
As for the reserves, Woodside said it had remaining proved (1P) reserves of 1,975.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) and remaining proved plus probable (2P) reserves of 3,092.2 MMboe.
"The reserves update underscores Woodside's high-quality assets and disciplined execution," O'Neill said.
Record full-year production
The Woodside share price got a healthy boost after the company released its full-year 2024 results on 25 February.
The highlight of the year was the record production of 193.9 MMboe.
However, impacted by lower realised oil and gas prices over the year, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) declined 13% from 2023 to $2.88 billion.
This, in turn, saw management reduce the fully franked final dividend (in Aussie currency) by 10% to 83.1 cents a share, bringing the full-year dividend payout to $1.851 a share.
Looking at what could impact the Woodside share price ahead in 2025, O'Neill said:
Woodside begins 2025 with a strong balance sheet, a resilient and high-performing base business and an attractive portfolio of projects which position us to deliver value-accretive growth and shareholder returns.
