MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> reported a 49 percent jump in half-year profit on Wednesday, buoyed by higher oil prices and lower costs, and said it was making progress on plans to develop its gas assets off Western Australia.
Australia's biggest independent oil and gas producer said it has a war chest of $2.6 billion in cash and untapped credit to develop stakes in the Scarborough and Browse fields off Western Australia, expand its Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and develop prospects in Myanmar and Senegal.
"We're living within our means," Coleman told analysts on a conference call. "We're moving our growth projects on nicely."
Those projects all face challenges, however, and even if they go ahead as planned, they will only bear fruit beyond 2021, with the company still short of near-term growth prospects.
"They're not without risk," said Citi analyst Dale Koenders.
Australia's biggest independent oil and gas producer posted a net profit for the six months to June of $507 million, up from $340 million a year ago, buoyed by higher realised prices and lower costs.
The company announced an interim dividend of 49 cents per share, up from 34 cents a share a year ago.
The result was below the average of four analysts' forecasts at around $534 million, but investors sent the company's shares up as much as 6 percent to a two-month high.
Coleman said Woodside is well-positioned to fill a gap in global LNG supply expected to emerge around 2022, but its growth plans hinge on complex talks with oil and gas majors like Shell <RDSa.L>, ExxonMobil Corp <XOM.N> and Chevron Corp <CVX.N>, whose priorities may lie elsewhere.
One way Woodside could help align the interests of the owners of gas sources and existing LNG infrastructure would be to increase its holding in the Scarborough field from 25 percent by engineering an exit from the project for ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil, which wants to develop Scarborough as a floating LNG project, declined to comment on speculation that it is looking to sell its 50 percent share. The stake could fetch around $800 million, based on the price Woodside paid BHP <BHP.AX> for 25 percent.
Coleman said if it were up for sale, Woodside would be interested - just not in all of it.
"It's difficult for me to see Woodside carrying Scarborough 75 percent, so please don't scare our shareholders," he told Reuters in an interview.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul in Melabourne additional reporting by Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)
