Australia's Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) on Wednesday narrowed its annual production forecast range and capital expenditure outlook after posting a lower-than-expected quarterly revenue.
The country's top independent oil and gas explorer now expects to produce 183 million-188 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) for the year, compared with its previous forecast of 180–190 MMboe.
"It looks like they have narrowed guidance due to a slower-than-expected ramp-up of Mad Dog Phase 2 and North West Shelf turnaround also taking longer than expected," said Adrian Prendergast, an analyst at Morgans Financial.
The energy producer, which in August averted industrial action at its LNG facilities, also flagged that any offshore activities in Australia might face higher costs and delays because of uncertainty over approvals.
"In the case of gas projects, such uncertainty threatens the delivery of much-needed new supplies to the Western Australian domestic market, as well as undermining the confidence of our regional trading partners," said CEO Meg O'Neill.
The company also sees fiscal 2023 capital expenditure of $5.7 billion to $6 billion, up from its previous forecast range of $6 billion to $6.5 billion.
Shares of Woodside were up 0.6% at A$36.290 by 0017 GMT.
"The corporate sector can err on the side of caution when it comes to capex, when faced with an uncertain economic backdrop, and I think that is likely what we are seeing in the case of Woodside Energy," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
The Perth-based company also reported third-quarter revenue of $3.26 billion for the period ended Sept. 30, compared with $3.08 billion posted in the June quarter.
That, however, missed a consensus estimate of $3.34 billion, according to RBC and a Citi estimate of $3.42 million.
It recorded an average realised price of $60.2 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe) in the September quarter, lower than $102 per boe last year.
Woodside produced 47.8 MMboe in the quarter, compared with 51.2 MMboe last year and fell short of Citi's estimate of 48.6 MMboe.
