Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares are pushing higher on Wednesday morning.
At the time of writing, the energy giant's shares are up 2% to $24.85.
This follows the release of the company's fourth quarter and full-year update before the market open.
Woodside shares higher on update
Woodside had a reasonably tough finish to the year, with quarterly production down 4% quarter on quarter to 48.9 MMboe. This reflects seasonal weather impacts and lower Australian east-coast demand.
However, this couldn't stop the company from breaking records across the 12 months. Woodside reported record full-year production of 198.8 MMboe, which was ahead of its guidance for the year.
A key driver of this was its strong oil asset performance. Management notes that it delivered 99.2% reliability at Sangomar and 98% reliability at Shenzi. In addition, in the fourth quarter it achieved a second consecutive quarter of 100% reliability at Pluto LNG and 99.8% reliability at the North West Shelf Project.
During the fourth quarter, Woodside recorded an average realised quarterly price of $57 per barrel. This was down 5% from the third quarter, reflecting lower oil-linked and gas pricing.
For FY 2025, its average realised price was $60 per barrel, down 5% from $63 per barrel a year earlier.
Woodside's unit production costs came in at $7.80 per barrel in FY 2025. This was in the middle of its guidance range of $7.60 to $8.10 per barrel.
Management commentary
Woodside's acting CEO, Liz Westcott, was pleased with the company's performance during FY 2025. She said:
We achieved record annual production of 198.8 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2025. This performance was driven by sustained plateau production at Sangomar through late October and Pluto LNG operating at 100% reliability for the second half of the year.
Westcott spoke positively about the future thanks to new operations coming online. She adds:
In recent days we marked a special milestone for the Scarborough Energy Project with the safe arrival of the floating production unit at the field and commencement of hook-up activities. The project was 94% complete at the end of the year and remains on budget and on target for first LNG cargo in Q4 2026.
In late December first production was achieved at Beaumont New Ammonia. Final project commissioning will continue through early 2026 ahead of project completion and Woodside assuming operational control. Production will commence with conventional ammonia with lower-carbon ammonia planned for 2H 2026.
Though, lower production is expected over the course of 2026 due to planned down time at Pluto. She said:
Our 2026 volume guidance of 172 – 186 MMboe reflects planned down time at Pluto as we prepare the facility to begin processing Scarborough gas and for first LNG cargo in Q4 2026.
