Woodside Petroleum has increased its full year production guidance after a better-than-expected September quarter.
Australia's largest oil and gas company increased production by 15.1 per cent to 25.2 million barrels of oil equivalent compared to the same period in 2013.
Higher liquefied natural gas and condensate volumes at its North West Shelf and Pluto projects drove the result and offset lower oil volumes.
Woodside said it now expects to produce between 93 and 95 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), up from its previous target of between 89 and 94 mmboe.
"This reflects continuing strong operating performance across all assets," the company said.
The outlook pleased investors, with Woodside shares up 10 cents, or 0.25 per cent, to $39.095 at 1436 AEDT while the broader market slumped by almost 0.6 per cent.
Sales revenue in the three months to September jumped 46 per cent to $1.96 billion, driven by better LNG prices and a 17 per cent increase in sales volumes.
Higher LNG reliability at its North West and Pluto projects were beneficial, along with the re-start of its oil field at the Vincent Production Storage and Offloading facility.
Woodside beat the expectations of some analysts, such as RBC Capital Markets, who had predicted flat production and weaker revenue.
The result is a strong one after a difficult quarter for Woodside in a corporate sense, after its failed to get major shareholder Royal Dutch Shell off its register.
Its shareholders knocked back a proposed buyback of nearly $US3 billion worth of shares, arguing it was unfair and overly favourable to Shell.
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