Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares just finished off a very strong month.
How strong?
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy stock closed on 30 June trading for $23.63. When the closing bell rang on 31 July, those shares were swapping hands for $26.59.
This saw Woodside shares up an impressive 12.5% over the month. That's more than five times the 2.4% gain posted by the ASX 200 in July.
Here's what went right for the ASX 200 oil and gas producer in the past month.
Tailwinds for Woodside shares in July
The 7.3% increase in the oil price was one of the tailwinds helping propel Woodside stock higher in July.
Brent crude oil ended June trading for US$67.61 per barrel and finished July at US$72.53 per barrel, according to data from Bloomberg.
Woodside shares also got a boost on the back of the company's second-quarter update, released on 23 July.
Among the highlights, Woodside reported a 2% quarter-on-quarter increase in production to 50.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe).
And revenue for the three months to 30 June came in at US$3.28 billion, up 8% year on year.
Amid the strong production and cost controls in the first half of the year that helped boost Woodside shares, the company amended its full calendar year 2025 production and cost guidance.
Management expects full-year production to range from 188MMboe to 195MMboe, from 186MMboe to 196MMboe previously.
Meanwhile, unit production costs were reduced to US$8.00 to US$8.50 per barrel, down from the previous guidance range of US$8.50 to US$9.20 per barrel.
Commenting on the strong production results on the day, Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill said:
As we marked the anniversary in June of first oil from Sangomar, the project's exceptional performance continued to make a strong contribution to quarterly results, with gross production reaching 101 thousand barrels per day at close to 100% reliability
What else happened with the ASX 200 energy stock in July?
Woodside shares also got a lift on 29 July.
That's when the company reported on its "historic agreement" involving the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture with Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM).
Under the agreement, Woodside will assume operatorship of the offshore Bass Strait production assets, the Longford Gas Plant, the Long Island Point gas liquids processing facility, and associated pipeline infrastructure.
Woodside said it expects to realise over US$60 million in synergies from the Bass Strait agreement with Exxon after deducting transition and integration costs.
As for August, Woodside shares closed down 0.3% on Friday, trading for $26.52 apiece.
