Quarterlytics / Energy / Oil & Gas Integrated / Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A. / FY2015 Annual Report

Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A.
Annual Report 2015

WPL · ASX Energy
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FY2015 Annual Report · Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A.
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ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Strength through resilience

ON THE COVER
Our world-class Karratha Gas Plant increased 
annual production capacity from 16.3 to 16.7 million 
tonnes of LNG following system improvements 
and debottlenecking.

OUR COMPASS

WHO WE ARE

WHERE WE’RE GOING

HOW WE’LL GET THERE

INTEGRITY
We are open, honest and fair. We do what we 
say we will do. We have the courage to do the 
right thing.

RESPECT
We give everyone a fair go. We listen. 

WORKING SUSTAINABLY
We are here for the long term. We look 
after each other, our communities and the 
environment. We keep each other safe.

WORKING TOGETHER
We are on the same team. 
We build long-term partnerships.

DISCIPLINE
We play by the rules. We set goals and we 
hold ourselves to account.

EXCELLENCE
We achieve great results. We learn.  
We get better.

OUR MISSION
To deliver superior shareholder returns.

OUR VISION
Our aim is to be a global leader in upstream 
oil and gas.

OUR STRATEGIC DIRECTION
Maintain our leading Australian position 
by optimising our producing assets and 
commercialising our growth projects and 
other premium opportunities.

Grow our portfolio by leveraging our core 
capabilities for global upstream growth.

PARTNER OF CHOICE
We are the premium choice for partnerships 
based on our distinctive capabilities, culture 
and track record as a great partner.

ENGAGED PEOPLE
We work for a highly regarded and 
successful company. We are part of a team 
working together for great results and have 
opportunities to contribute and grow.

FUNCTIONAL EXCELLENCE
We leverage our core capabilities and the 
latest technology to create new opportunities 
and sharpen our competitive edge.

DECISION EFFECTIVENESS
We make and execute decisions in line with 
our business priorities and our values.

OUR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT  
REPORT 2015

This report is a summary of 
Woodside’s sustainability 
approach, actions and 
performance for the 
12-month period ended  
31 December 2015. 

This report will be available in  
March 2016.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2015

 Further information at woodside.com.au

ii

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In this report, we have indicated where 
additional information is available online  
and in other sections of this report like this 

.

A glossary of key terms, units of measure and 
conversion factors is on page 110.

We have partnered with Green ReportsTM 
in an initiative that ensures that 
communications minimise environmental 
impact and creates a more sustainable 
future for the community.

 
About Woodside
We are an Australian-based oil and gas 
company with a global presence, recognised 
for our world-class capabilities – as an 
explorer, a developer, a producer and a 
supplier.

Our mission is to deliver superior shareholder 
returns through realising our vision of becoming 
a global leader in upstream oil and gas.

Wherever we work, we are committed to 
living our values of integrity, respect, working 
sustainably, discipline, excellence and working 
together.

Our operations are characterised by strong 
safety and environmental performance in 
remote and challenging locations.

We recognise that long-term meaningful 
relationships with communities are 
fundamental to maintaining our licence to 
operate, and we work to build mutually 
beneficial relationships in all locations where 
we are active.

Our producing liquefied natural gas (LNG)
assets in the north-west of Australia are 
among the world’s best facilities. 

Today, our exploration portfolio includes 
emerging and frontier provinces in Australia 
and the Asia-Pacific region, the Atlantic 
margins and Latin America and Sub-Saharan 
Africa. We have significant equity interests in 
high-quality development opportunities.

We are Australia’s most experienced LNG 
operator and largest independent oil and gas 
company.

Our proven track record and distinctive 
capabilities are underpinned by more than  
60 years of experience, making us a partner 
of choice.

Through collaboration, we leverage our 
capabilities to progress our growth strategy. 
Since 1984, we have been operating the 
landmark Australian project, the North West 
Shelf, and it remains one of the world’s 
premier LNG facilities. In 2012, we added 
our Pluto LNG Plant to our onshore operating 
facilities.

About this report
This Annual Report 2015 is a summary of 
Woodside’s operations and activities for the  
12-month period ended 31 December 2015 
and financial position as at 31 December 
2015. Woodside Petroleum Ltd  
(ABN 55 004 898 962) is the parent company 
of the Woodside group of companies. In this 
report, unless otherwise stated, references 
to Woodside and the Group, the company, 
we, us and our refer to Woodside Petroleum 
Ltd and its controlled entities, as a whole. 
The text does not distinguish between the 
activities of the parent company and those of 
its controlled entities.

References in this report to a year are to  
the calendar and financial year ended  
31 December 2015 unless otherwise stated.

We operate five floating oil production, 
storage and offloading vessels, the largest 
owner-operated fleet in Australia, and we 
have an excellent track record of efficient and 
safe production. 

We are growing our portfolio through 
acquisitions and exploration while maintaining 
a disciplined approach to ensure that we 
continue to increase shareholder value and 
appropriately manage risk.

We are transforming to become a global 
business. We have a portfolio of significant 
interests in Canada and Timor-Leste and a 
growing network of partnerships. 

Known as a reliable and safe energy supplier, 
we have enduring relationships with 
foundation customers throughout the Asia-
Pacific region which span more than 25 years.

We believe technology and innovation are 
essential to unlocking future growth and 
commercialising assets. We continually 
expand our technical knowledge, discover 
new solutions and learn valuable lessons. 

Innovation has always been in our DNA. Our 
knowledge has been built through decades of 
experience, dating back to the world-record 
water depths of wells we drilled in offshore 
southern Australia in the 1950s. Today, we are 
pioneering remote support and the application 
of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics 
in our operations. 

We are open and honest in our relationships. 
Sharing ideas and aspirations, we have 
the courage to always do the right thing 
for our people, partners, customers and 
communities.

All dollar figures are expressed in US currency, 
Woodside share, unless otherwise stated. 
Woodside is continuing efforts to reduce 
its environmental footprint associated with 
the production of the Annual Report. Printed 
copies of the Annual Report will only be 
posted to shareholders who have elected to 
receive a printed copy.

The Annual Report is also printed 
on an environmentally responsible 
paper manufactured under ISO 14001 
environmental management standards, 
using elemental chlorine-free pulps from 
sustainable, well managed forests.

CONTENTS
Overview
About Woodside ...................................................................................1
About this report ...................................................................................1 
Our areas of activity ...........................................................................2 
Performance summary .................................................................4 
Chairman’s report ............................................................................... 6 
Chief Executive Officer’s report ..........................................8 
Woodside executives .....................................................................10

Operating and Financial Review 
Creating sustainable value:  
our business model .........................................................................14
Financial position  ...........................................................................16
Strategy and outlook  .................................................................18
 ...............................................................................................................20
Risks 

12

Operations

North West Shelf ...............................................................22
Pluto LNG ..................................................................................24
Australia Oil ............................................................................. 26
International – Canada ................................................... 27
LNG marketing ..................................................................... 28
Our people ............................................................................... 30
Health, safety, security and  

emergency management .................................. 32
Environment ........................................................................... 34
Communities ......................................................................... 35
Technology and innovation ........................................ 36
Reserves and resource statement ..................... 38
Growth ...........................................................................................................41
Global exploration ......................................................... 42
Development

Wheatstone  ..................................................................44
Greater Enfield............................................................. 45
Greater Western Flank Phase 2 ................... 45
Browse FLNG ..............................................................46
Kitimat LNG.....................................................................47
Sunrise LNG ...................................................................47
Business development opportunities ........47

Governance 
48
Board of Directors .............................................................................48
Corporate governance statement .................................50
Directors’ report ...................................................................................51
Remuneration report ....................................................................52

Financial Report 2015 

71

Shareholder information 
Shareholder statistics .................................................................107
Share registry: enquiries.........................................................108
Investor relations: enquiries................................................108
Business directory ..........................................................................109
Key announcements 2015 .....................................................109
Events calendar 2016 ...................................................................109
Glossary, units of measure and  
conversion factors ..........................................................................110
Index  ...............................................................................................................111
Summary charts 2015 ................................................................112
Ten-year comparative data summary ....................113

Report objectives
This report meets our compliance 
and governance requirements, and 
is designed to provide easy-to-read 
information on how Woodside 
performed in 2015 for our stakeholders, 
including shareholders, staff, 
customers and the community.

We aim to build awareness of our 
operations and demonstrate how we 
delivered on our mission and vision while 
maintaining our values and commitment 
to sustainable development.

1

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEWOUR AREAS OF ACTIVITY

Our Australian business

Perth (HQ)

9

19

12

13
2 3

14

5

4

16
17

7
11

Broome

*  In September 2015, Woodside entered into a conditional 

agreement to sell our interests in the Laminaria-Corallina Joint 
Venture, including the Northern Endeavour FPSO. For further 
information refer to page 27.

8

18

10

15

1

6

Karratha

WESTERN 
AUSTRALIA

2

Producing assets 1Karratha Gas PlantNWS2Goodwyn A platformNWS3North Rankin ComplexNWS4Okha FPSONWS oil5Angel platformNWS6Pluto LNG PlantPluto LNG7Pluto LNG platformPluto LNG8Ngujima-Yin FPSOVincent oil9Northern Endeavour FPSO*Laminaria-Corallina oil10Nganhurra FPSOEnfield oil11Armada Claire FPSOBalnaves oilProjects12Greater Western Flank Phase 1 NWS13Greater Western Flank Phase 2NWS14PersephoneNWS15Wheatstone LNG Plant (non-operated)Wheatstone16Wheatstone LNG Platform (non-operated)Wheatstone17Julimar Julimar, BrunelloDevelopments18Greater Enfield OilEnfield oil19Browse FLNGBrowseWoodside offices and representative officesOVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Our global business

Ireland

Morocco
Spain
(Canary 
Islands)

Cameroon
Gabon

Grassy Point LNG

Kitimat LNG

Canada

Republic of Korea

Myanmar

USA

Corpus Christi

Port Arthur

Nova Scotia

Sunrise LNG

Australia

Perth

New Zealand

Peru

Broome

3

Woodside headquartersExploration acreageDevelopments and projectsBusiness opportunitiesProducing assetsOVERVIEWWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEWPERFORMANCE SUMMARY

In 2015, we attained a 10% improvement in personal safety performance,  
and achieved a Proved plus Probable (2P) annual total reserves replacement 
ratio of 276%. We delivered annual production of 92.2 MMboe, our second  
highest annual result, whilst reducing our break-even cash cost of sales to 
US$11 per boe, representing a 22% reduction from 2014. 

Personal safety

Reserves replacement

Production

Sales revenue

10%

Improvement

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12

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14

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11

12 13

14 15

11

12

13

14

15

11

12

13

14

15

Our total recordable injury rate 
(TRIR) was a 10% improvement 
on 2014. It has significantly 
improved over the past four years, 
demonstrating solid progress 
towards our goal of global 
top-quartile health and safety 
performance by 2017.

In 2015, we achieved a Proved plus 
Probable (2P) annual total reserves 
replacement ratio of 276%, largely 
through acquisitions.

In 2015, we delivered annual 
production of 92.2 MMboe, our 
second highest annual result.  
This was 3% lower than 2014 due 
to the planned Pluto turnaround 
and natural field decline. 

We experienced a 36% decrease 
in sales revenue. This reflected 
lower realised prices across the 
portfolio. During 2015, the average 
price of Brent oil was US$53.60,  
46% lower than the average Brent 
price in 2014.

Operating cash flow

Reported NPAT

Break-even cash cost  
of sales

Dividends per share

50%

5
8
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4

5
7
4
,
3

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Operating cash flow decreased by 
50%, largely attributable to lower 
commodity prices. 

99%

3
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12 13

11
14 15
^ Normalised to remove Browse 

partial equity sale

11

12 13

14 15

Delivered reported NPAT of 
US$26 million, a decrease of 99% 
compared to 2014. This was due to 
lower oil prices impacting revenue 
and impairments driven by lower 
near-term and long-term forward 
price assumptions.

Our break-even cash cost of 
sales per boe has reduced from 
US$14.27 in 2014 to US$11.09 
in 2015, representing a 22% 
reduction. This cost reduction is 
inclusive of royalties and excise, 
and the impact of a weaker 
Australian dollar.  

12

11
13
^ Special dividend

14

15

NPAT adjusted for special items 
of US$1.126 billion was used for 
calculating the full-year dividend of 
US109 cents per share.

 Additional summary charts can be found on page 112.

4

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY

Results for the year

2014

2015

% change

Reported net profit after tax

(US$ million)

NPAT adjusted for one-off non-cash items1

(US$ million)

Sales revenue 

Cash flow from operating activities

Reported earnings per share 

Total recordable injury rate

Ten-year total shareholder return2 (TSR)

Ten-year TSR2 quartile ranking3

Production 

Proved (1P) reserves 

Proved plus Probable (2P) reserves 

Contingent resources 

(US$ million)

(US$ million)

(US cents)

(TRIR)

(TSR, %)

(Quartile)

(MMboe)

(MMboe)

(MMboe)

(MMboe)

2,414

2,617

7,076

4,785

293

1.90

10.6

2nd

95.1

1,048

1,339

1,743

26

1,126

4,496

2,376

3

1.71

2.5

2nd

92.2

1,150

1,508

4,398

(99)

(57)

(36)

(50)

(99)

10

(76)

n.m4

(3)

10

13

152

1.  Woodside’s financial reporting complies with Australian Accounting Standards and International Financial 

Reporting Standards (IFRS). The NPAT adjusted for special items (non-IFRS) is unaudited but is derived from 
auditor reviewed accounts by removing the impact of non-recurring items (impairments, deferred tax asset 
derecognition and onerous lease costs) from the reported (IFRS) auditor-reviewed profit. Woodside believes 
the non-IFRS profit reflects a more meaningful measure of the company’s underlying performance.

2.  Source: Bloomberg, TSR is the compounded annual return over the specified period.
3.  Against Woodside peer group see page 63.
4. Not meaningful.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS 2015

Achieved a total recordable injury rate of 1.71, 
sustained progress towards global top-quartile 
performance.

Achieved 92.2 MMboe of annual production,  
our second highest result.

Acquired Wheatstone, Balnaves and Kitimat interests, 
which increased 2P Developed and Undeveloped 
Reserves (19.1%, 264.8 MMboe) and 2C Contingent 
resources (151%, 2,632 MMboe).

Completed capacity enhancement activities at Pluto 
LNG and North West Shelf (NWS) Project, increasing 
expected annual production capacity.

Discovered additional 2C Contingent resources  
of 68 MMboe (net) for Pluto with the Pyxis-1 
exploration well.

Commenced production from the Greater Western 
Flank Phase 1 Project.

Approved the US$2.0 billion (100% project)  
Greater Western Flank Phase 2 Project.

Entered front-end engineering and design (FEED)  
for Browse FLNG Project.

Completed the Xena Phase 1 Project ahead of 
schedule and commenced production.

Discovered gas in Block A-6 in the Rakhine Basin, 
located offshore Myanmar, substantially de-risking 
the petroleum system and identified leads in the 
block and our adjacent acreage. 

Entered FEED for the Greater Enfield Development.

Raised $4.1 billion in bond and bank markets, 
bringing our pre-tax portfolio cost of debt at year end 
to a competitive 2.9%.

Completed the planned Pluto turnaround ten days 
(30%) ahead of original plan.

Completed onshore and offshore NWS maintenance 
turnaround activities, with system availability 
returned to planned levels seven days ahead of 
schedule.

Achieved record continuous LNG production runtime 
of 125 days at the NWS Project's Karratha Gas Plant.

Completed in excess of 6,800 km2 of 3D seismic data 
acquisition over Myanmar acreage.

Delivered annual productivity program benefits of 
>US$700 million.

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEW

5

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Against a backdrop of oil price 
uncertainty, Woodside continues to 
maintain a strong balance sheet and 
operating cash flow.

Michael Chaney AO 
Chairman

Global oil markets underwent a dramatic 
change in 2015. Oil prices reached an 
11-year low in December, and market 
uncertainty presented challenges to oil and 
gas companies around the globe.

A strong balance sheet

In this constrained business environment, 
your company managed to deliver solid 
results for 2015 – Net profit after tax 
(NPAT) prior to the deduction of one-off 
non-cash items of US$1,126 million, a 
statutory NPAT of US$26 million and cash 
flow from operations of US$2,376 million. 
At the same time, we raised US$4.1 billion 
in new and refinanced debt facilities.

These results build on a strong track record 
of achievement. Since 2011, we have 
increased Contingent resources by 106%, 
reduced break-even cash costs of sales by 
33% and increased production by 43%. 

Today, compared to five years ago,  
we are a leaner organisation with more 
assets, development opportunities 
and almost double the acreage in our 
exploration portfolio.

Importantly, our strong balance sheet 
has enabled us to pay over $7 billion in 
dividends to our shareholders over the  
past five years. 

This year, we have elected to maintain  
our 80% dividend payout ratio and we 
have declared a fully franked dividend  
of 109 US cents per share based on the 
adjusted profit described above.  

Consistent with our commitment to 
a strong balance sheet and retaining 
flexibility during this time of oil price 
weakness, the 2015 final dividend will be 
fully underwritten via the reactivation of 
the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP). 
Activating the DRP at this time is prudent 
financial management, as it enables us to 
balance returns to our shareholders, with 
the preservation of cash and maintenance 
of balance sheet flexibility.

This financial discipline, combined with a 
robust business model, enabled us to once 
again make good progress on our growth 
strategy during 2015.

Growth opportunities

Our largest development opportunity, the 
proposed Browse Floating LNG (FLNG) 
development off the coast of Western 
Australia, entered front-end engineering 
and design during the middle of the year.

The project team is working hard to reduce 
Browse costs, targeting an economically 
robust project in the forward price 
environment. 

We finalised acquisition of the Kitimat, 
Balnaves and Wheatstone interests 
in April. In Australia, Wheatstone and 
Balnaves provide immediate and near-term 
production and increase our Proved and 
Probable reserves by 265 MMboe.

In Canada, Kitimat provides long-term 
growth options and a world-class 
Contingent resource (2C) of 2,632 MMboe 
net Woodside share. 

6

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Throughout the year, Woodside continued 
to engage with the governments of 
Australia and Timor-Leste on the Sunrise 
development opportunity. We remain 
committed to the development, but we 
do need government alignment to ensure 
certainty for future investment.

Early in 2016, we announced the important 
discovery of gas in the Shwe Yee Htun-1 
well drilled by Woodside in the Rakhine 
Basin offshore Myanmar. This discovery 
opens up an exciting new exploration 
province in which your company holds 
significant interests.

In this environment, we also  
remain disciplined as we look for  
potential acquisitions around the globe.  
In September, we submitted a proposal  
to the board of Oil Search Limited to merge 
our two companies and create a regional 
oil and gas champion. The proposal  
would, in our view, have been to the 
significant benefit to the shareholders  
of both companies.

We were disappointed that the  
Oil Search Board declined to engage in  
any discussions of the proposal, which  
we withdrew in December.

Oil price

A changing LNG market

We continue to pursue our key growth 
opportunities, but we are also prepared for 
ongoing oil price uncertainty.

The rise of North American 
“unconventional oil”, the Organization of 
Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision 
to defend market share and increase 
production and weaker global growth have 
all contributed to an oil market that is likely 
to remain oversupplied through most of 
2016.

Lower oil prices contributed to demand 
growth of 1.7 million barrels per day in 
2015, but demand growth alone has 
not been strong enough to rebalance oil 
markets.

While the major energy research 
consultancies are predicting an oil price 
recovery by 2020, Woodside is taking a 
conservative view. Our focus remains on 
providing superior shareholder returns 
through the commodities cycle.

The company is using the lower price 
environment to drive down costs, 
enabling cost competitive development 
opportunities.

Following the dramatic fall in oil prices 
during 2015, we took a decision after the 
close of the year to lower our short and 
long-term oil price assumptions. This 
resulted in a diminution in the assessed 
value of the Wheatstone and Balnaves 
assets, as reported in our annual accounts.

Alongside market uncertainty, we are 
in the midst of a rapidly changing LNG 
market. This poses opportunities and 
challenges for Woodside. For a start, there 
is increasing supply competition in this 
market, providing customers with more 
choices in terms of geography, pricing 
and product. In future, we can expect to 
see the first-ever LNG developments in 
Canada, competing with US, Australia, 
Africa and the Middle East.

Secondly, we are seeing a change in  
the number and location of buyers. 
Seven countries made up 90 per cent of 
demand in 2005, but about 25 countries 
will make up 90 per cent of demand by 
2020. Globally, concerns about climate 
change and air quality are also shaping 
demand for LNG. During the past year, 
we have seen numerous governments 
around the world adopt more stringent 
clean energy policies. As such, we 
believe natural gas will continue to have a 
significant role to play in the future energy 
mix – it is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, 
it is easily transportable and reliable, and 
it complements renewables to provide 
largescale uninterrupted power.

With these factors in mind,  
Woodside continues its relentless focus  
on productivity and reliability initiatives.  

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

We are also enhancing our marketing and 
trading capabilities to reflect the increasing 
flexibility in the LNG market.

Woodside’s track record of 25 years’ 
experience as a safe and reliable LNG 
supplier to Asia’s growing economies 
means we are well positioned to supply 
the region and beyond with LNG into  
the future.

Board changes

After 11 years of service on Woodside’s 
Board of Directors, Dr Andrew Jamieson 
will retire at our Annual General Meeting 
in April. Dr Jamieson, with his wealth 
of international engineering, oil and gas 
experience, has made a substantial 
contribution to the Board, and we are 
indebted to him for his efforts. Following 
Dr Jamieson’s retirement, Ms Melinda 
Cilento will be appointed chair of the 
Human Resources & Compensation 
Committee.

Woodside’s strong performance in  
2015 is a testament to our people, led by  
Chief Executive Officer Peter Coleman.  
On behalf of the Board of Directors,  
I thank all our staff for their hard work  
and dedication to the company.

We look forward to continuing our 
progress in 2016.

Michael Chaney AO 
Chairman

17 February 2016

7

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEWCHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

It is clear that our strategy, our assets 
and our people have performed well 
amid the pressures of the lower oil 
price environment.

Peter Coleman 
Chief Executive Officer and  
Managing Director

2015 Key performance highlights

Future objectives

ƒƒ Achieved a total recordable injury rate 
(TRIR) of 1.71, a 10% improvement  
from 2014.

ƒƒ Achieved 92.2 MMboe of annual 

production, our second highest result  
on record.

ƒƒ Acquired Wheatstone, Balnaves and 
Kitimat interests, which increased 2P 
Developed and Undeveloped Reserves 
(19.1%, 264.8 MMboe) and 2C Contingent 
resources (151%, 2,632 MMboe).

ƒƒ Completed the Xena Phase 1 project ahead 
of schedule and commenced production in 
June 2015. The Phase 1 project accesses 
net reserves (2P) of 197 Bcf dry gas and 
2.3 MMbbl of condensate.

ƒƒ Entered front-end engineering and design 

(FEED) for Browse.

ƒƒ Discovered additional 2C Contingent 

resources of 68 MMboe (net) with the 
Pyxis-1 exploration well.

ƒƒ Commenced production from the  

Greater Western Flank Phase 1 Project  
in December 2015.

ƒƒ Approved the US$2.0 billion (100% project) 
Greater Western Flank Phase 2 Project off 
the north-west coast of Australia.

ƒƒ Discovered gas in Block A-6 in the  

Rakhine Basin, located offshore Myanmar. 

ƒƒ Entered FEED for the Greater Enfield 

Development.

ƒƒ Raised US$4.1 billion in bond and bank 
markets, reducing our pre-tax portfolio  
cost of debt. 

ƒƒ Delivered annual productivity program 

benefits of >US$700 million.

ƒƒ Achieve global top-quartile health and 

safety performance by 2017.

ƒƒ Maintain a strong balance sheet, low cost 

of operations and capital discipline enabling 
the delivery of superior shareholder 
returns.

ƒƒ Operate according to a business plan that 

reflects low prices.

ƒƒ Work with the Browse Joint Venture 

participants targeting a globally 
competitive, economically robust  
project.

ƒƒ Progress our projects:

Ĉ Greater Western Flank Phase 1 Project, 

which achieved first gas in 2015.

Ĉ Persephone Project, scheduled for first 

gas in the first half of 2018.

Ĉ Wheatstone Project, with first gas 

expected in mid-20171.

Ĉ Greater Western Flank Phase 2 Project, 
scheduled for first gas in the second half 
of 2019.

ƒƒ Deliver value adding growth organically and 

inorganically.

ƒƒ Enhance our competitive advantage 
through leveraging technology to 
deliver sustainable growth through cost 
reductions and commercialisation of 
stranded resources.

ƒƒ Expand our marketing capabilities through 

access to new markets and low cost 
shipping.

8

1. Source: Chevron.

As we look back over our performance in 
2015, it is clear that our strategy, our assets 
and our people performed well amid the 
pressures of the significantly lower oil price 
environment. The resilience of our business 
model was apparent as we made measured 
progress across the value chain, not only 
meeting key objectives for the year, but  
also improving the efficiency with which  
we did so.

Reported Profit for the year was  
US$26 million, driven by the sharp fall in 
commodity prices and asset impairments. 
Impairments are mostly driven by the 
collapse in near-term crude oil prices and an 
approximate 20% reduction in our long-
term pricing assumptions for the purpose 
of determining asset values. Despite the 
economic climate, our business is resilient. 
Solid cash flows were generated through 
our strong operating performance and our 
low cost of production. Furthermore, we 
maintained strong levels of liquidity, with 
negligible debt maturities in 2016 and 2017, 
and have low levels of committed capital 
expenditure. We continue to execute our 
strategy at a pace appropriate for the current 
uncertain environment.

Operational excellence is central to how 
we deliver value for our shareholders. 
Production of 92.2 MMboe is our second 
highest production result on record – 
achieved through our relentless drive to 
improve the reliability of our assets. In 
December, production commenced from 
the Greater Western Flank Phase 1 (GWF-1) 
Project to maintain current levels of output 
from the North West Shelf’s (NWS) Karratha 
Gas Plant. We also made a final investment 
decision on the Greater Western Flank 
Phase 2 (GWF-2) Project. This is the fourth 
major gas development for the NWS Project 
in the past seven years, demonstrating a 
commitment to maximising value from this 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015asset. We are also pursuing third-party gas 
arrangements for the NWS.

we delivered at the upper end of our 2015 
production range.

Significant other achievements included 
additional production from our Vincent 
field, record continuous runtime of 
125 days at our Karratha Gas Plant, 
and enhancements at Pluto that have 
production exceeding the expected annual 
capacity of 4.3 mtpa.

Our productivity program has delivered  
>US$700 million in benefits in 2015 and 
>US$1.2 billion in cumulative benefits 
since it began two years ago. Initiatives 
aimed at not only reducing cost but driving 
improvements and achieving efficiencies 
have enabled us to meet our commitments 
with reduced operating expenditure. This 
contributed to our break-even cash cost of 
sales dropping for the second consecutive 
year to around US$11 per boe. All of this 
was done while reducing the size of our 
workforce by almost 10%.

Disciplined capital management is 
a constant in our business and was 
especially important in 2015. In an 
environment of low commodity prices, we 
maintained strong levels of liquidity with 
US$1.7 billion in cash and undrawn facilities 
at 31 December 2015. Our average term to 
maturity is 4.7 years, and we have negligible 
debt maturities in 2016 and 2017. Our debt 
maturing in 2018 to 2020 comprises more 
than 50% bilateral evergreen facilities 
which contain annual options to extend 
the maturity date. The performance of 
our assets allowed us to generate strong 
operating cash flow of US$2.376 billion. 
Our gearing of 23% is within our 10% to 
30% target range across the cycle.

We took advantage of market conditions 
to raise US$4.1 billion in bond and bank 
markets, bringing our pre-tax portfolio cost 
of debt to a competitive 2.9% at year end. 
Our credit rating is unchanged at BBB+ for 
Standard & Poor’s and Baa1 for Moody’s, 
albeit the Moody’s rating is currently under 
review, reflecting the broader energy 
sector conditions. 

The resilience demonstrated by our 
people is something of which I am very 
proud. In March, we were forced to 
temporarily shut-in production at Pluto 
after a submersible rig on contract to 
another party drifted near the Pluto flow 
lines. The response across the business to 
understand and assess risks and damage 
was a phenomenal effort, allowing us 
to quickly and safely restart production. 
An electrical incident at the Karratha Gas 
Plant in May tested the ingenuity of our 
engineers, who pulled out all the stops 
and came up with innovative solutions 
that allowed us to restart production in a 
timely manner. Despite these challenges, 

Our progress towards achieving  
top-quartile health and safety 
performance remains on track, with a 
reduction in our total recordable injury rate, 
down from 1.9 in 2014 to 1.71. We met our 
target for process safety, recording fewer 
than three Tier 2 incidents, maintaining 
the high standard set the previous year. 
We were injury free in each of our two 
major maintenance turnarounds of 2015, 
both of which were also completed 
ahead of schedule. We were pleased 
with our environmental performance, 
with a reduction in flared gas intensity. 
This is a key focus in our response to 
global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions and reflects our commitment 
to developing resources responsibly.

We made steady progress on efforts 
to grow our portfolio, focusing on 
opportunities that fit well with our 
capabilities and strategic aims, while 
maintaining a disciplined approach 
to investment decision making. 
Our development pipeline includes 
Wheatstone, Julimar, GWF-2, Greater 
Enfield and Browse. At Kitimat, we drilled 
four appraisal wells in Canada’s Liard 
Basin – important steps as we work to fully 
understand the potential of a world-class 
resource.

During 2015, we undertook a range of 
exploration activities, with successful 
results. The Pyxis-1 gas discovery off the 
coast of Western Australia increased net 
contingent resources by 68 MMboe with 
tieback potential to existing Pluto LNG 
infrastructure. Then, at year end,  
we announced the Shwe Yee Htun-1  
gas discovery in offshore Myanmar.  
This discovery of gas and reservoir-quality 
rock in the deepwater Rakhine Basin 
substantially de-risks identified leads in the 
block and our adjacent acreage. Woodside 
signed production-sharing contracts for 
four other blocks offshore Myanmar which 
were awarded in the 2013 bid round.

Our biennial staff survey revealed a marked 
rise in engagement and enablement 
levels, with engagement surpassing the  
oil and gas industry benchmark. 
Responses showed that our focus on 
building a values-led, high-performance 
culture gained good traction, and there  
was strong belief that Woodside was 
headed in a clear and promising direction. 

This was amplified by our actions. Our 
people worked hard to deliver improved 
outcomes and innovative solutions that 
aligned with our ambitions. Efficiency gains 
were achieved not only through structured 
change to enhance organisational agility, 

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

but through an ability to get things 
done and done well, regardless of the 
challenges. 

In keeping with efforts to drive sustainable 
success, we embraced science and 
technology as a way of leveraging our 
distinctive capabilities. This included 
the introduction of data analytics and a 
cognitive computing system, allowing us 
easier access to 30 years of Woodside 
knowledge and experience and enabling 
data-driven decision making. Our 
FutureLab program inspires connected 
thinking and collaborative innovation with 
industry experts and researchers. 

We also continued to attract graduates at 
levels comparable to that of the previous 
year, reasserting our commitment to 
developing talent from within, and we 
worked to improve the diversity of our 
workforce. Pleasingly, 49% of our graduate 
intake were women, and the proportion of 
women in our total workforce increased to 
28% in 2015.

Outlook

Woodside’s progress is steady and sure, 
a reflection of our robust and resilient 
business model. We maintain firm focus 
on our long-term vision to become a 
global leader, drawing on a strategy that is 
serving us well. 

We continue to seek growth opportunities, 
both organic and inorganic, making 
disciplined decisions about what we 
choose to pursue and when we do 
so. Keen to enhance our competitive 
advantage, we are embracing technologies 
that leverage our experience and inspire 
innovation, while our well-established 
productivity program drives further 
efficiencies and a commitment to 
continuous improvement. 

Woodside and its people are mindful 
of the challenges of the lower oil price 
environment but unwavering in their 
commitment to delivering high-value 
outcomes in support of sustainable 
success.

Peter Coleman 
Chief Executive Officer and  
Managing Director

17 February 2016

9

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEWWOODSIDE EXECUTIVES

Lawrie Tremaine
BBus, FCPA

Executive Vice President  
Finance and Commercial and 
Chief Financial Officer

Lawrie was appointed as Chief 
Financial Officer in 2010. 

He joined Woodside in 2006 
and has over 30 years of 
finance leadership experience, 
predominantly in the resource 
and minerals processing industry. 

Lawrie is responsible for a range 
of functions including finance, 
investor relations, commercial, 
contracting and procurement, 
strategic planning and 
performance excellence. 

Prior to joining Woodside, Lawrie 
worked for Alcoa for 17 years.  
He is a National Executive 
Member of the Group of 100. 

Michael Utsler 
BSc (Petroleum Engineering)

Chief Operations Officer

Michael was appointed  
as Chief Operations Officer  
in 2013, following an extensive 
career in upstream oil and gas 
spanning more than 35 years. 

He is responsible for Woodside’s 
producing facilities, global 
logistics, global drilling and 
completions; and stewardship 
of programs in health, safety, 
environment, quality, security and 
crisis management. 

Prior to joining Woodside, 
Michael held the position of 
President for the BP-Gulf Coast 
restoration organisation, leading 
the Deepwater Horizon response 
effort.

Phil Loader
BSc (Geology), MBA, MSc, DIC

Executive Vice President  
Global Exploration

Phil was appointed as Executive 
Vice President Global Exploration 
in 2013, following an extensive 
career in the upstream sector 
spanning over 30 years. 

Phil is responsible for the 
company’s global exploration 
activities. 

Prior to joining Woodside, 
Phil’s roles included Senior 
Vice President Exploration at 
Mubadala Petroleum in the 
United Arab Emirates and  
Vice President Exploration at 
Anadarko Petroleum, and he was 
also a non-executive chairman of 
Chariot Oil and Gas.

Peter Coleman
BEng, MBA, FATSE

Chief Executive Officer and 
Managing Director

Peter was appointed as Chief 
Executive Officer and Managing 
Director in May 2011, and has 
over 30 years’ experience in the 
global oil and gas industry.

Peter is the Chairman of the 
Australian-Korea Foundation, a 
Fellow of the Australian Academy 
of Technological Sciences and 
Engineering and, in 2012, was 
awarded the honorary title of 
Adjunct Professor in Corporate 
Strategy by the University of 
Western Australia. In 2013, 
he received the Distinguished 
Alumni Lifetime Achievement 
Award from Monash University. 

In 2015, Peter was appointed 
Chair of the Advisory Group on 
Australia-Africa Relations.

Peter began his career at Esso 
Australia (later becoming part 
of the ExxonMobil group) and 
stayed with ExxonMobil  
until joining Woodside. 

10

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015WOODSIDE EXECUTIVES

Dr Robert Edwardes
BSc (Eng), PhD

Executive Vice President 
Development

Robert was appointed as 
Executive Vice President 
Development in 2012. He has 
over 35 years of resources 
industry experience, spanning 
the full breadth of operations and 
projects. 

In his current role, he is 
accountable for front-end 
planning and execution of 
onshore and offshore capital 
projects, reservoir management, 
engineering and subsea. 

Prior to joining Woodside, 
Robert’s roles included Managing 
Director of Worley Parsons 
(US and Latin America) and 
Project Director of the Kizomba 
deepwater oil development in 
Angola with ExxonMobil.

Dr Greg Roder
BSc (Hons), PhD, MBL

Reinhardt Matisons
BEng, MBA, MIE Aust, CPEng, CPA

Executive Vice President  
Business Development and 
Growth

Executive Vice President 
Marketing, Trading and 
Shipping

Greg was appointed as Executive 
Vice President Business 
Development and Growth in 
2011. He has over 35 years’ 
experience in energy resources, 
infrastructure investment, 
funds management, capital 
markets and operational asset 
management. 

Greg leads Woodside’s strategic 
business growth, particularly 
through corporate and asset 
transactions.

Prior to joining Woodside, Greg 
held leadership positions at 
ExxonMobil, Macquarie Bank, 
Standard Bank of South Africa 
and AMP Capital Investors.

Reinhardt was appointed 
as Executive Vice President 
Marketing, Trading and Shipping 
in 2014. He has over 30 years’ 
experience in the energy 
industry. 

In his current position, he is 
accountable for the marketing, 
trading and shipping function. 
Reinhardt joined Woodside 
in 1996 and has held various 
marketing and commercial roles. 

Prior to this, he held senior 
leadership roles with Poten & 
Partners, Alinta Gas, Western 
Power and the State Energy 
Commission of Western 
Australia. 

Michael Abbott
BJuris, LLB, BA, MBA

David McLoughlin
BA (Psychology), FAHR 

Senior Vice President Corporate 
and Legal and General Counsel

Senior Vice President  
People and Global Capability

Michael was appointed as Senior 
Vice President Corporate and 
Legal in 2014. He has over 25 
years of legal experience, with 
more than ten years of senior 
leadership experience in the oil 
and gas industry.

Michael is accountable for 
legal, company secretariat, risk, 
compliance and corporate and 
government affairs. 

Michael joined Woodside in 
2005 and has held a variety of 
roles including Mergers and 
Acquisitions lawyer, head of the 
Procurement Legal Team and 
Vice President Legal and General 
Counsel.

David was appointed Senior Vice 
President People and Global 
Capability in January 2016.  
He joined Woodside in 2014 and 
has over 20 years’ experience 
in mining, minerals and 
engineering in Australia, South-
East Asia and the Americas. 

David is accountable for building 
executive leadership, maximising 
employee performance and 
managing change within the 
organisation.

Prior to Woodside, David held 
various senior roles with MMG, 
GlencoreXstrata, Xstrata Copper, 
Thiess and Rio Tinto.

Shaun Gregory
BSc (Hons), MBT

Senior Vice President and  
Chief Technology Officer

Shaun was appointed as  
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Technology Officer in 
January 2016, and has worked  
in the oil and gas industry for  
over 25 years. 

Shaun leads the company’s 
efforts in advancing science and 
technology and understanding 
the business climate and energy 
outlook to support decision 
making. He joined Woodside 
in 1996 and has held a variety 
of roles in areas including 
geophysics, mergers and 
acquisitions, corporate strategy, 
exploration, and new ventures.

11

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OVERVIEWOPERATING AND  
FINANCIAL REVIEW

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

Financial position

Liquidity

Productivity

~$11

per boe

Break-even cash cost  
of sales

$1.7

billion

In cash and undrawn 
facilities as at 31 December

>$700

million

In benefits achieved in 2015

Our break-even cash cost of sales is  
~US$11 per boe, representing a 33% reduction 
over two years. We achieved a 7% decrease in 
gas unit production costs and a 17% reduction 
in oil unit production costs. This reflects our 
increased focus on cost efficiencies and reliability. 

At year end, our portfolio cost of debt remains 
at a very competitive 2.9% and we maintain a 
strong liquidity position with available funds of 
US$1,722 million. Our average term to maturity 
is 4.7 years, and we have negligible maturities 
in 2016 and 2017. Our gearing is 23%, within 
our target range of 10% to 30%.

More than half of the benefits came from 
increased production volumes through 
improvements in reliability and capacity. The 
balance was achieved through reduction to our 
operating expenditure and reduction to our capital 
expenditure. This includes savings relating to a 
reduction of over 650 full-time equivalents.

 Read more on page 17.

 Read more on page 17.

 Read more on page 17.

North West Shelf (NWS) Project

Pluto LNG (Pluto) 

Australia Oil

16.7

mtpa

Increased production 
capacity
North West Shelf's Karratha Gas Plant increased 
average annual production capacity from  
16.3 to 16.7 million tonnes of LNG following 
system improvements and debottlenecking.

96.9%

Reliability

Pluto achieved top-quartile LNG reliability, 
averaging 96.9% and exceeded its production 
targets. Completed the first major planned Pluto 
LNG turnaround ten days ahead of schedule. 
The turnaround execution was outstanding 
across several areas, including health and safety 
performance, quality, and cost savings.

MMbbl

9.8

Production increased by 
17% from 2014
The Vincent Phase IV side track came online 
in June 2015 and contributed 1.7 MMbbl of 
production for the year.

 Read more on page 22.

 Read more on page 24.

 Read more on page 26.

12

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015OPERATING AND  

FINANCIAL REVIEW

OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

Environment

Our people

8%

Decrease in  
flared gas intensity

5%

Increase in 
graduate intake

Health, safety, security and 
emergency management

0

Tier 1 process 
safety events

The year saw an 8% reduction in flared gas 
intensity through improvements to facility 
start-up processes and high reliability in 
facility operation.

Consistent with our strategy of growing our 
culture for a long-term sustainable future,  
our 2016 intake of 108 graduates  
is a 5% increase on 2015. Women  
represent 49% of this intake. 

We recorded zero Tier 1 process safety 
events. This result reflects our focus on 
performance excellence and process safety 
management.

 Read more on page 34.

 Read more on page 30.

 Read more on page 32.

Reserves

Resources

Exploration

12.7%

Increased 2P Developed 
and Undeveloped reserves

Woodside’s Proved plus Probable (2P) 
Developed and Undeveloped reserves life 
increased to 15.7 years, up on the 2014 
result of 13.5 years. This was underpinned 
by the successful acquisition of interests in 
Wheatstone. 

152%

Increased 2C Contingent 
resources

Woodside’s contingent resources (2C) 
increased 152% from 2014, largely due to the 
acquisition of interests in Kitimat LNG and the 
Pyxis-1 gas discovery.

2

Discoveries

Discovered gas at Pyxis-1, offshore  
Western Australia, resulting in the addition of 
68 MMboe of net Contingent resources (2C) for 
Pluto. Discovered gas at the Shwe Yee Htun-1 
exploration well in Block A-6 in the Rakhine 
Basin, located offshore Myanmar.

 Read more on page 38.

 Read more on page 38.

 Read more on page 42.

13

OVERVIEWWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWCREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE: OUR BUSINESS MODEL

Our primary focus is on the delivery of value for our shareholders.  
We offer long-term investment opportunities and superior returns to our 
shareholders through world-class asset and capital management, value-adding 
growth and dividends.

MISSION

To deliver superior
shareholder
returns.

VISION
To be a global leader 
in upstream oil and gas.

VALUES
Excellence. Respect. 
Working sustainably. Integrity. 
        Working together. Discipline. 

OUR STRATEGY

Maximise Core

Leverage Capabilities

Grow Portfolio

OUR BUSINESS MODEL

Acquire

Explore

Develop

Operate

Market

Decommission

Divest

CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Capital Allocation

Capital Discipline

Capital Efficiency

How we create value
Woodside is an Australian-based international 
oil and gas company guided by our mission, 
vision, values and strategy. We seek to 
create value for our shareholders across the 
exploration and production life cycle through 
a disciplined approach to capital management 
and a focus on working sustainably.

Our strategy

Maximise our core

We create near-term value by maximising 
operational effectiveness of producing assets 
and developing contingent resources in the 
most cost-effective way.

Leverage our capabilities

Grow our portfolio

Woodside is building distinctive capabilities 
across the oil and gas value chain and has a 
proven track record in the design, construction 
and operation of world-class LNG plants, 
FPSO operations, subsea technology,  
seismic data acquisition and processing,  
and deepwater drilling.

By leveraging our capabilities across our 
business life cycle and by applying the 
latest technologies, market experience and 
relationships, we are able to unlock and 
extract value through opportunities that would 
not otherwise present themselves.

We are growing and rebalancing our 
exploration portfolio, with a focus on 
increasing our exposure to emerging 
petroleum provinces, while also concentrating 
on aggregating positions around our existing 
focus areas in Australia and the Asia-Pacific 
region, the Atlantic margins and Latin America 
and Sub-Saharan Africa.

We are also seeking to grow our portfolio 
through corporate and asset acquisitions, 
maintaining a disciplined approach to ensure 
that we continue to increase shareholder 
value and appropriately manage risk.

14

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015CREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE: OUR BUSINESS MODEL

Our business model
The way we find, develop and operate our 
portfolio of world-class assets; the way we 
market the hydrocarbons we produce; and the 
legacy we leave at the end of these assets’ 
lives enables us to create value and deliver 
sustainable shareholder returns. 

Through productivity improvements, cost 
reductions and prudent growth, we preserve 
and enhance value from our portfolio. We 
continually innovate to discover new technical 
solutions and learn valuable lessons.

With a strong focus on protecting our people, 
the environment and the communities in 
which we operate, we are committed to 
finding safer, smarter and more sustainable 
ways to run our business. 

Acquire and explore

We seek to grow our portfolio through 
exploration and corporate and asset 
acquisitions, maintaining a disciplined 
approach to increasing shareholder value and 
appropriately managing risk.

Our exploration division provides growth 
opportunities to deliver on our strategy by 
pursuing high-impact exploration activities in 
new and emerging petroleum provinces in our 
three focus areas around the world.

Our business development process follows 
the same investment criteria as our internal 
development opportunities and looks for 
material positions in world-class assets which 
complement our existing portfolio.

Develop

We are a world-class developer of oil and 
gas resources with a 30-year history of 
safely and successfully delivering world-
class LNG and oil projects. We have rigorous 
investment assessment criteria and only 
approve investment in opportunities that, after 
prudent assessment, offer attractive returns 
exceeding our cost of capital.

We are in the business of creating value-
adding development solutions, which we do 
through harnessing the technical and business 
skills from across the company. During the 
development phase, we maximise value by 
planning the most efficient configuration for 
getting products to market.

We work closely with our customers, joint 
venture participants, governments and 
communities to realise the opportunities 
across all phases of the development process. 
Once the value of the resource is confirmed, 
and approvals have been received, the 
development moves into project delivery and 
construction.

Operate

Our dedication to achieving outstanding 
operating excellence and sustaining a safe, 
reliable and low-cost operating environment 
is underpinned by our experience in operating 
some of the world’s premier oil and gas 
facilities.

Our operations are characterised by strong 
safety and environmental performance 
in remote and challenging locations. By 
adopting a continuous improvement mindset 
and an efficient, cost-competitive operating 
model, we are able to increase the life of 
our equipment, optimise production and 
maximise value.

With a focus on using leading-edge 
technology and unlocking collective 
intelligence through data analytics and 
cognitive computing, we are able to take 
advantage of opportunities that are at the 
forefront of the industry and gain valuable 
productivity benefits.

Market and trade

Our marketing and trading capabilities have 
long been central to our role as a leading 
supplier of energy to the Asia-Pacific region. 
Our valuable relationships with customers in 
major energy markets have been maintained 
through a track record of reliable delivery and 
expertise across contracting, marketing and 
trading.

While the majority of our contracts are 
long-term, we are pursuing near-term value 
accretive arrangements through LNG spot 
and mid-term sales and LNG shipping 
transactions.

Our marketing and trading strategy is to 
continue to build a diverse supply portfolio, 
underpinned by reliable Australian LNG and 
supplemented by future globally sourced 
volumes to pursue additional long-term sales 
arrangements.

Decommission and divest

As we look towards the end-of-field-life of our 
oil and gas assets, we aim to bring forward 
optimal value wherever we can, including 
the divestment of late life assets. In the 
event that we are required to decommission 
our facilities, we integrate closure planning 
throughout an asset’s life cycle, from the 
earliest stages of project development, 
through to the end-of-field-life.

By working together with our partners, 
stakeholders and technical experts, we are 
able to identify the most sustainable and 
beneficial post-closure options that minimise 
financial, social and environmental impact. 
Our approach helps us maintain our reputation 
as a partner of choice and uphold our licence 
to operate.

Capital management
As we operate in a commodity market, we 
are subject to the fluctuations in commodity 
prices. Consequently, we need to maintain 
a flexible approach to capital management. 
The overall level of investment in the different 
areas of our business and the expenditure 
focus are adjusted to reflect the external 
environment. 

Capital allocation

Our priorities for the allocation of capital are:

ƒƒ Debt service; to ensure we continue to 

have access to premium debt markets at 
an acceptable cost to support our growth 
activities. Our gearing target is 25% – a 
range of 10% to 30% through the cycle is 
built into all investment plans. We target 
maintaining an investment-grade credit 
rating and will reactivate our Dividend 
Reinvestment Plan (DRP) if necessary to 
maintain it.

ƒƒ Capital expenditure to sustain and grow 
our business. We seek to invest in world-
class low-cost assets that are within the 
first two-thirds of their life cycle and are 
located in our three exploration focus 
areas. We aim to limit our equity exposure 
to future complex, capital-intensive 
projects to between 25% and 40%.

ƒƒ Dividend payments; governed by our 

Dividend Policy, which specifies we will 
pay a minimum of 50% of underlying net 
profit after tax in dividends. We currently 
pay an 80% dividend payout ratio and 
target maintaining this for the foreseeable 
future subject to market and business 
conditions.

ƒƒ Returning surplus cash to investors  
via either special dividends or stock  
buy-backs.

Capital discipline

Our focus is on value growth. We achieve 
this through good investment decision 
making and active portfolio management. 
We adopt a traditional discounted cash flow 
(DCF) approach to our investment decisions 
whether they be acquisitions, developments, 
divestments or other activities. Our 
investment criteria are designed to add value 
through our investment decisions delivering 
returns on invested capital that exceed our 
cost of capital. The assumptions we use are 
set independently of project decisions. 

We apply a suite of target metrics with the 
aim of our investment decisions delivering 
superior shareholder returns. We also test 
the robustness of our investments against 
a range of low-outcome scenarios with the 
expectation of a positive net present value. 
We set higher target metrics for investments 
with increased complexity and risk and seek 
to preserve any upside potential.

Capital efficiency

We seek to develop and own low-cost  
world-class assets. Our approach is to 
drive down the unit development cost of 
our projects to maximise competitiveness 
and value while not compromising on 
our commitments to health, safety, the 
environment and the communities in 
which we operate. Through good oilfield 
development planning, project execution 
and through the use of technology, we 
identify the optimum solutions enabling us 
to maximise the value of our operations and 
developments.

15

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWFINANCIAL POSITION

Low oil price impacted profits and resulted in impairment charges, but low 
operating cash costs mean that we continue to generate significant cash,  
and the balance sheet remains strong.

Key metrics

2015 reported net profit after tax (NPAT) versus 2014

US$ million unless stated otherwise

Operating revenue
EBITDA1
Impairments
EBIT
Reported NPAT

NPAT adjusted for one-off  
non-cash items2

2014
7,435
5,568
434
3,672
2,414

2015
5,030
3,063
1,083
441
26

2,617

1,126

Net cash from operating activities 4,785
561
Capital expenditure
Exploration expenditure
410
Free cash flow
Net debt

2,376
5,567
436
4,168 (3,080)
4,319
(682)

Key ratios
Gearing  
%
US cps
Earnings 
US cps
Adjusted earnings 
Return on equity  
%
Effective income tax rate  %

Sales volumes

Gas 
Liquids 

MMboe
MMbbl

(4.5)
293
318
15.3
30.1

72.4
20.8

23.3
3
137
0.2
49.8

71.7
21.0

1. EBITDA excludes impairment and amortisation of permit 

acquisition costs.

2. Removes the impacts of impairments, deferred tax asset 

de-recognition and onerous lease. 

Key differences relative to 2014

Revenue
Decreased by US$2,580 million to  
US$4,496 million driven by price and  
volume reductions and other variances.

Price: The impact of lower realised prices 
was an unfavourable US$2,393 million:
ƒƒ NWS LNG realised prices declined in line 
with reduced Japan Customs-cleared 
Crude (JCC) pricing.

ƒƒ Pluto LNG realised prices decreased due  
to a 40% decline in JCC, partially offset 
by a price review effective for the full-year 
2015 compared to part-year 2014.

ƒƒ Realised prices for oil, condensate, and 

LPG were lower due to a 46% decline in 
average Dated Brent prices.

Average realised prices

All in US$/boe
Pipeline natural gas

2014 2015
22

28

% 
Variance
(21)

US$m 
impact
(15)

NWS LNG

Pluto LNG

Condensate

LPG

73

81

97

100

101

Oil
Volume weighted 
average realised prices
JCC (lagged 3 months) 111

76

Brent average price

99

16

45

59

50

50

52

49

66

54

(38)

(27)

(48)

(50)

(49)

(636)

(776)

(395)

(33)

(538)

(36)

(2,393)

(40)

(46)

-

-

2,500

2,414

2,580

n
o

i
l
l
i

m
$
S
U

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

(500)

(1,000)

(1,500)

79

649

969

51

26

l

s
e
a
S

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v
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A
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2

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a
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t
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m

r
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a
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m

I

219

185

96

1
T
R
R
P

i

e
s
c
x
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&
y
t
l
a
y
o
R

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a
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&
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128

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a
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5
1
0
2

2015 NPAT was lower than in 2014 largely due to lower prices impacting revenue and impairments 
predominantly associated with lower short and long-term oil price assumptions.

1. Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

Volume: 2015 annual sales of 92.7 MMboe 
were 0.5 MMboe lower than the record result 
achieved in 2014. Lower volumes reduced 
revenue by $120 million.

Other variances: A decrease of US$67 million 
predominantly related to foreign exchange 
movements on North West Shelf pipeline gas.

Oil and gas production costs
Oil and gas production costs decreased by  
US$79 million to US$630 million in 2015 
predominantly driven by cost reduction 
initiatives and favourable exchange rates. 

Impairments

Increased by US$649 million largely as a 
result of forward price assumptions that are 
approximately 20% lower than in 2014. The 
Laminaria-Corallina write back is due to the 
value attributed to the sale of this asset.

US$ million 2014

2015

Enfield

Stybarrow

Balnaves

Laminaria-Corallina

Vincent

NWS Oil

Wheatstone

Total 

179

60

-

64

90

41

-

18

-

10

(95)

85

200

865

434

1,083

PRRT
PRRT increased US$219 million due to 
the derecognition of a deferred tax asset 
associated with Pluto, partially offset by  
lower revenue.

Royalty and excise
The decrease of US$185 million was due  
to lower realised prices.

Exploration and evaluation
The US$96 million increase was primarily  
due to the write-off of unsuccessful wells, 
namely Anhalt and Malaguti in Australia, 
Hongge in the Republic of Korea and Cheetah 
in Cameroon.

Onerous lease
A US$128 million provision was recognised in 
2015 reflecting the shortfall in value between 
the look forward value of the Balnaves asset 
and the lease obligations. The provision arises 
due to the lower performance expectations of 
the asset and lower oil prices.

Income tax expense
Income tax expense reduced US$969 million 
due to lower pre-tax profit.

Other
The decrease is predominantly due to general 
administrative and other costs reducing by 
US$113 million, partially offset by other items.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unit production costs
We achieved an overall 8% reduction in unit 
production costs relative to 2014, with a 7% 
decrease in gas unit production costs and a 
17% reduction in oil unit production costs.  
Since 2013, the total production cost reduction 
has been 14%.

Total production cost

Gas unit production cost

Oil unit production cost

3
3
7

9
0
7

2
9
6

0
3
6

5
8
4

17.44

34.18

25.83

21.55

20.19

4.16

5.49

4.57

5.19

4.89

11

12

13 14

15

e
o
b
/
$
S
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n
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$
S
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Cash margins and cash break-even
Cash margins have decreased with lower 
realised pricing across the portfolio. 

Our break-even cash cost of sales has 
reduced from US$16.52 per boe in 2013  
to US$11.09 per boe in 2015, representing a 
33% reduction over two years. These savings 
are inclusive of reductions in royalties and 
excise, and the impact of a weaker Australian 
dollar. 

58

58

51

62

38

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b
/
$
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9

8
11

8

8
12

8

9
13

7
4
7
7
14 15

Cash margin

Other

Production costs

Investment 
In 2015, we invested US$6,003 million in our 
business, comprising:

ƒƒ US$4,873 million on the acquisition and 

development costs of Wheatstone, Kitimat 
LNG and Balnaves oil;

ƒƒ US$694 million on our pre-existing 

assets (up from US$561 million in 2014). 
Expenditure increased largely due to 
Vincent Phase IV side track; and   

ƒƒ US$436 million in exploration (up from 
US$410 million in 2014). Expenditure 
increased during 2015 due to higher drilling 
activity.

 Investment expenditure outlook is on page 19.

Balance sheet and liquidity
Net debt has increased to US$4,319 million at 
31 December 2015 following the funding of 
the acquisition and investment expenditure. 
Gearing has increased to 23% but remains 
well within our target range of 10% to 30%.

)
n
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28.6

8
1
9

,

1

1
4
5

,

1

9.2

11.2

1
6
0

,

5

23.3

9
1
3

,

4

(4.5)

)
2
8
6
(

11

12 13 14 15

Net debt

Gearing (%)

With strong support from bank and debt 
capital markets, we raised new debt and 
refinanced a significant portion of our exisiting 
debt portfolio. US$4,100 million in new and 
refinanced facilities were raised during the 
year comprising: 
ƒƒ US$1,000 million US 144A ten-year 

corporate bond; 

ƒƒ US$1,000 million syndicated loan facility;
ƒƒ US$2,100 million in revolving bilateral debt 

facility agreements. 

Refer to page 91 of the Financial Report  
for further details on our debt facilities.

Our debt maturities have been extended 
with an average term to maturity of 4.7 years 
and negligible maturities in 2016 and 2017. 
Over 50% of debt maturing in 2018 to 2020 
comprises bi-lateral evergreen facilities which 
contain annual options to extend the maturity 
date.

1,750

1,500

1,250

1,000

750

500

250

0

n
o

i
l
l
i

m
$
S
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16

17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Bank debt (contains options to extend)

Bonds

Other

At year end, our portfolio cost of debt 
remains at a very competitive 2.9%, and 
we maintain a strong liquidity position 
with available funds of US$1,722 million 
comprising cash of US$122 million and 
undrawn debt facilities of US$1,600 million. 

Our BBB+ rating has been affirmed by 
Standard & Poor's (negative outlook) and  
our Baa1 rating by Moody’s is currently  
under review.

The Board has approved reactivation of the 
Dividend Reinvestment plan (DRP) for the 
2015 Final Dividend. This will further support 
our balance sheet.

FINANCIAL POSITION

Sources and uses of cash
We entered the year in a strong position 
with US$6.8 billion of available liquidity in 
January 2015. With the addition of  
US$2.4 billion of operating cash flow 
we were able to comfortably fund 
our asset acquisitions and investment 
expenditure requirements.

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

n
o

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l
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m
$
S
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Sources

Uses

Cash flow from 
operations
Cash at beginning of 
period
Undrawn facilities at 
beginning of period

Investment expenditure

Acquisition

Dividend payment
Net repayment of 
borrowings

NPAT sensitivities
For 2016, a US$1 movement in the  
Brent oil price is expected to impact NPAT 
by US$22 million, and a US$0.01 decrease 
in the AUD/USD exchange rate is expected 
to increase NPAT by US$4 million.

Productivity progress 
In 2014, Woodside announced a multi-year 
program to improve productivity across the 
company. By year end 2015, 56% of our 
major improvement projects were completed, 
and thousands of smaller improvements  
were delivered. These initiatives delivered 
>US$700 million in 2015. 

More than half of the benefits came from 
increased production volumes through 
reliability and capacity improvements relative 
to our average performance for 2010 to 2013. 

The balance was achieved through reduction 
to our operating expenditure relative to our 
2013 actual spend and reduction to our capital 
expenditure relative to our 2013 forward plans. 
These savings are inclusive of the reduction 
of over 650 full-time equivalents relative to 
our 2013 baseline. Benefits were achieved in 
contracting savings, efficiency improvements 
and rigorous scope challenge, with significant 
sustainable benefits. For example, the 
Engineering Standards project is expected to 
deliver ongoing capital expenditure benefits. 

The program delivered a step-change in our 
productivity and will continue in 2016, when 
the remaining major improvement projects 
will be completed.

17

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
STRATEGY AND OUTLOOK

Strategic direction

Leverage our capabilities

Our vision is to become a global leader in 
upstream oil and gas and deliver superior 
shareholder returns.

Upstream oil and gas is a cyclical business.  
A resilient low-cost operating core and 
healthy financial position are essential to 
endure price cycles and sustain long-term 
growth. Despite a challenging year of 
low oil and gas prices, we are well placed 
at this point of the cycle due to a strong 
balance sheet and operating cash flow.

Maximise our core

In early 2014, Woodside proactively 
embarked on a program to lower its 
costs, improve production and improve 
operational efficiency. This program has 
improved our resilience to a low oil price 
environment and is driving cultural change. 
Our break-even cash cost of sales has 
been reduced to $11.09 per boe.

We achieved strong safety and reliability 
performance in 2015. Our full-year total 
recordable injury rate is an historic low 
of 1.71 per million man hours (a 10% 
reduction from 2014), and we are on track 
to achieve global top-quartile performance 
by 2017. We achieved full-year production 
of 92.2 MMboe, our second highest 
result on record. Excellent operations 
performance and revised turnaround 
strategies are improving Woodside’s 
production outlook.

The productivity program delivered 
>US$700 million in benefits in 2015. 
Around half of this has been achieved 
through improvements in operating 
reliability and turnaround efficiency; the 
other half through cost savings. We have 
improved cost control through internal 
initiatives, and vendor and category 
management.

Woodside’s outstanding performance 
in 2015 was delivered alongside a 20% 
improvement in organisational efficiencies 
which included staff reductions. The 
Woodside team is more engaged and 
more productive. Since 2013, Woodside 
has substantially improved employee 
engagement and enablement and is 
performing at the top end of industry 
benchmarks.

Our near-shore liquefaction and modular 
liquefaction technologies and a range 
of subsea and seismic data processing 
technologies are delivering value to our 
exploration and development investments. 
Our emerging remote operations and 
analytics capabilities are lowering operating 
costs and improving maintenance 
outcomes.

We continue to build capabilities in 
marketing, trading and shipping as we 
transition from a point-to-point to a 
portfolio-based seller. Corpus Christi 
Liquefaction LLC reached a final 
investment decision on 13 May 2015, 
satisfying conditions precedent to 
Woodside’s 20-year LNG sales and 
purchase agreement. Our customer 
portfolio is expanding in response to an 
evolving LNG market.

Grow our portfolio

One of our main priorities is to unlock value 
from the Browse resources using floating 
LNG (FLNG) technology. On 30 June 2015,  
we entered the front-end engineering and 
design phase for the proposed Browse 
FLNG Development.

Our exploration strategy continues to 
transition from acreage acquisition to 
execution. We progressed a range of 
exploration activities across our portfolio, 
resulting in discoveries at Pyxis-1 in 
Australia and Shwe Yee Htun-1 in 
Myanmar. The latter has substantially  
de-risked the petroleum system and 
identified leads in the block and adjacent 
acreage.

Our acquired interests in the Australian 
Wheatstone and Balnaves oil projects 
added significant reserves as well as 
immediate and near-term production to  
our portfolio. 

Wheatstone is a world-class asset with  
8.9 mtpa (1.16 mtpa Woodside share) LNG 
production capacity. Kitimat LNG offers 
a ground floor entry position into one of 
the most advanced LNG opportunities 
in Western Canada. These assets will 
provide value-enhancing opportunities and 
leverage our subsea, floating production 
storage and offloading operations and 
LNG capabilities. We continue to evaluate 
further acquisition opportunities that meet 
our target investment criteria.

Outlook 

Market outlook

The LNG market has been impacted by 
effects of world economic growth, energy 
demand, timing for new LNG supply, 
and volatility in oil price due to oil-linked 
LNG pricing. Price trends in the short-
term market reflect a supply overhang. 
Key uncertainties for LNG in the medium 
term include the potential restart of some 
nuclear reactors in Japan and the ramp-
up timing of new supply from Australia 
and the United States of America (USA). 
There is a risk of delay for some projects 
under construction and final investments 
decisions (FIDs) for incremental supply, 
with the potential for a supply gap to 
emerge from around 2022.

 For more information on LNG marketing, 
please refer to page 28.

Production range

Woodside’s production target range for 
2016 is 86 to 93 MMboe, comprising 
a product split of approximately 42% 
Pluto LNG, 25% NWS LNG, 14% NWS 
domestic gas, 18% condensate, oil and 
LPG and 1% Canadian pipeline natural gas. 

Exploration activities

In 2016, our planned drilling and seismic 
activities include:

ƒƒ one well and a side track in the Beagle 
Basin offshore north-west of Australia;

ƒƒ one well in Myanmar (AD-7); and

ƒƒ seismic surveys in Gabon, Ireland and 

Myanmar.

Our focus in 2016 is to continue to grow 
and high-grade our global exploration 
portfolio with an emphasis on emerging 
petroleum provinces such as Myanmar, 
that offer materiality and can deliver future 
growth opportunities (see Chart 1). 

  To read more about our exploration growth, 
go to page 42.

Development activities

Our committed projects include  
(see Chart 2): 

ƒƒ North West Shelf (NWS) Project, namely 
Greater Western Flank Phase 1 (GWF-1), 
Persephone and Greater Western Flank 
Phase 2 (GWF-2) projects; and

ƒƒ Wheatstone, namely the Wheatstone 
Project (non-operated) and the Julimar 
Project (Woodside operated). 

 To read more about Wheatstone and the 
Julimar Project, go to page 44.

18

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Our uncommitted (pre-FID) projects are 
(see Chart 2):

ƒƒ Browse, Greater Enfield, NWS Lambert 

Deep, Kitimat and Sunrise.

The NWS Project participants approved 
the GWF-2 project, a subsea tieback to the 
Goodwyn A platform, in December 2015. 
Drilling has commenced on the Persephone 
project, a subsea tieback to the North 
Rankin Complex. The project remains on 
target to achieve start-up in 2018.

The Browse FLNG Development entered 
the front-end engineering and design 
(FEED) phase in mid-2015. Work continues 
to support a FID. 

  To read more about Browse, go to page 46.

Woodside remains committed to 
developing Greater Sunrise once 
government alignment is established 
between Australia and Timor-Leste on 
fiscal terms. 

Investment expenditure 

Woodside’s total investment expenditure 
in 2016 is expected to be approximately 
US$2.05 billion (see Chart 3), of which 
~US$1.5 billion is committed. 

The 2016 expenditure relates to:

ƒƒ Wheatstone, (~US$760 million) and 

Kitimat (~US$140 million);

ƒƒ Pluto, (~US$230 million) allocated to 
well developments and sustaining  
capital expenditure; 

ƒƒ NWS, (~US$290 million) allocated 
to Persephone, GWF-2, Karratha 
life extension and sustaining capital 
expenditure;

ƒƒ exploration, (~US$350 million) which will 
be allocated approximately one half to 
drilling, one quarter to seismic and lease 
acquisition costs and one quarter to 
general permit activity; and

ƒƒ other, (~US$280 million) mostly 

allocated to Browse FLNG FEED and 
Greater Enfield FEED, both pre-FID 
expenditure.

Chart 1 – 2016–2017 planned drilling and seismic activities

Drilling
Australia

Beagle Basin

WA-483-P
International
Myanmar

Seismic surveys

Gabon
Ireland
Myanmar
Myanmar

Drilling

2016

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2017
Q1

Q2

Size1

Target

Skippy Rock
Stokes2
Swell

Thalin
A-6 TBA3
A-6 TBA3

3D
3D
2D
3D

Oil
Oil
Gas

Gas
Gas
Gas

Medium
Small
Large

Large
Large
Large
Km4
2,500
2,200
1,230
31,750

Drilling subject to joint venture approval

Seismic surveys

1. Target size: gross mean success volume 100%, un-risked. Small <20 MMboe, Medium >20 MMboe and  

<100 MMboe and Large >100 MMboe.

2. The Stokes prospect will be drilled via a side track from the Skippy Rock well.

3. Myamar A-6 wells in 2017 are subject to joint venture approval.

4. 2D seismic is in line km. 3D seismic is in sq km.

Chart 2 – Development pipeline
2016

2017

2018

2019

1H

2H

1H

2H

1H

2H

1H

2H

2020
1H 2H

US$m1

Committed projects
NWS:

GWF-1
Persephone
GWF-2
Wheatstone:
Wheatstone
Julimar

Uncommitted (pre-FID) projects
Browse
Greater Enfield
Kitimat

~310
~140
~330
~1,8582

STRATEGY AND OUTLOOK

The above figures include Woodside’s 
share of sustaining capital expenditure1 
and restoration costs in 2016 which is 
expected to be:

ƒƒ NWS (~US$30 million) combined 

onshore and offshore;

ƒƒ Australia Oil (~US$30 million); and

ƒƒ Pluto (~US$25 million) combined 

onshore and offshore.

1. Sustaining capital expenditure is capital which 

does not develop additional reserves.

Sources and uses of cash in 2016 

Our cash flow from operations is expected 
to exceed our committed investment 
expenditure of US$1.5 billion in 2016, 
notwithstanding current oil prices. 

Chart 3 – Woodside’s investment 
expenditure outlook1 

0
0
0
,
4

0
0
0
,
3

0
0
0
,
2

0
0
0
,
1

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12

13

14

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3,640

308

163

230

436

208

1,018

~280

~290

~230

~350

~140

~760

15

15  
Asset 
Acquisitions

16 E

Wheatstone

Kitimat LNG

Exploration

Pluto LNG

NWS

Other2

1. Chart includes capital, exploration and restoration 
expenditure and excludes capitalised interest.

2. Other includes Australia Oil, Browse, International, 
Sunrise, Corporate and restoration expenditure.

3. All figures are Woodside share.

Concept select

Concept definition and FEED

Execute

Execute subject to FID

1. Total project cost – Woodside share.
2. Development expenditure post 'acquisiton and working capital adjustment'.

19

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW 
RISKS

Our approach to risk management focuses on enhancing opportunities, 
reducing threats to our existing and potential business and sustaining a 
competitive advantage.

Woodside’s risk management process 
(Figure 1) is aligned to ISO 31000, 
the international standard for risk 
management. It is part of our overall 
management system and sets out clearly 
defined criteria to evaluate and report on 
material risk across our organisation. We 
systematically assess the consequence 
of risk in areas such as health and 
safety, environment, finance, legal and 
compliance, reputation and brand, and 
social and cultural impacts. 

A range of material risks with the potential 
to adversely impact Woodside are 
summarised below. These risks are not 
listed in order of significance, nor are they 
all encompassing. Rather, they reflect the 
most significant risks identified at a whole-
of-entity level.

Market conditions

External market conditions, including 
volatility in commodity prices and demand 
for our products, may impact our future 
financial performance. 

Commodity prices are variable and are 
impacted in part by global economic 
factors beyond Woodside’s control. 
Adverse commodity prices, which could 
have a material effect on our business, 
are managed in a number of ways. For 
example, any reductions in global LNG 

prices are managed through our diversified 
portfolio of long-term sale and purchase 
agreements. In practical terms, this 
provides some downside price protection. 
Woodside mitigates the uncertainty 
associated with product demand by selling 
LNG under long-term ‘take or pay’ sale 
agreements, in addition to the spot market.

We are also exposed to fluctuations in 
currency exchange rates and, as a result, 
Woodside’s financial results can be 
negatively impacted. The extent of this risk 
is reduced by Woodside’s financial results, 
debt and the majority of revenue being 
in US dollars. The remaining exposure is 
principally to Australian dollar and third 
currency expenditure. Our exposure to 
volatility in the Australian dollar is partially 
mitigated by our pipeline gas revenue, 
which is priced in Australian dollars.  
The impact of currency volatility becomes 
more pronounced when Woodside is 
undertaking new domestic, onshore 
developments. Our current exposure to 
these new projects is low. Woodside 
generally considers that active commodity 
and currency hedging does not provide 
value to our shareholders, but does 
consider the appropriateness of such 
hedging from time to time and in specific 
circumstances. Any hedging activity is 
only undertaken in accordance with limits 
approved by the Woodside Board. 

Figure 1 displays the Woodside risk management process. It applies clearly defined criteria to 
evaluate and report on risk and considers the potential impact of risk across six categories of 
consequence.

Figure 1 – Woodside risk management process

Establish the context

RISK ASSESSMENT

Risk identification

Risk analysis

Risk evaluation

Risk treatment

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The overall exposure to fluctuations in 
currency exchange rates is low. For the 
estimated impact of a change in oil price or 
exchange rates on NPAT, see the Financial 
Position on page 16.

Production
Safety and reliability in production 
and delivery of hydrocarbon products 
influences our ability to achieve superior 
shareholder returns.

A sustained and unplanned interruption to 
Woodside’s production could significantly 
impact our financial performance and delay 
future growth. Such an event could occur 
for a number of reasons, including loss 
of facility integrity, sub-optimal reservoir 
performance, critical process failures, 
removal of our licence to operate or a 
significant weather event. Further, offshore 
and marine-related activities introduce 
additional complexity and risk into the 
way we operate, which require specific 
management. These activities also have 
the potential to interrupt our ability to 
produce hydrocarbons. 

Our extensive framework of controls 
enables the management of such risks. 
This includes our overall production 
processes, inspection and maintenance 
procedures, performance standards, 
marine assurance processes and our 
focus on compliance with legal and 
regulatory obligations. This framework 
is complemented by the ongoing 
engagement we have with regulators. 

Additionally, our facilities are designed 
and operated consistent with the overall 
environmental and climatic conditions 
applicable to each facility. 

Information technology
Our business relies on a variety of 
information technology systems.  
A cyber security attack has the potential 
to disrupt our business activities. Our 
exposure to cyber security risk is managed 
by an appropriate control framework 
and the continuing focus on system 
control improvements, supported by 
an established and embedded security 
strategy across the organisation.

Loss of containment
A loss of hydrocarbon containment 
from a Woodside-operated facility or 
well could result in harm to personnel, 
or environmental, social, reputation and 
financial loss.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
This risk is addressed by an extensive 
control framework designed to prevent 
the loss of hydrocarbon containment 
in the first instance, and by maintaining 
an appropriate capability to minimise 
the impact of an event should it occur. 
Our specialised oil spill contingency and 
response teams further enhance our 
emergency response capabilities.

Exploration
Our ability to identify, acquire and 
commercialise hydrocarbons will be 
an ongoing contributor to our success. 
However, there is a risk that Woodside’s 
exploration activities may be unsuccessful, 
thereby reducing or limiting future growth.

Our overall exposure to exploration risk is 
addressed by a comprehensive exploration 
strategy and a rigorous and disciplined 
review of opportunities, complemented by 
the company’s capabilities in geosciences 
and deepwater exploration.

Commercial transactions
Commercial transactions undertaken 
with the objective of growing Woodside’s 
portfolio are associated with a number of 
risks. 

These include the risk of sub-optimal 
commercial outcomes which fail to deliver 
the value to Woodside anticipated from the 
transaction; the imposition of unfavourable 
conditions, obligations or liabilities which 
affect the value of the transaction; or 
the eventual operational performance 
of any acquired asset not meeting our 
expectations. Our commercial processes 
are designed to reduce the likelihood 
of these risks materialising as a result 
of a commercial transaction. We focus 
on maintaining a disciplined approach 
to ensure that we continue to increase 
shareholder value and appropriately 
manage risk.

Commercialisation of hydrocarbons
Woodside’s focus is on ensuring efficient 
and cost-competitive commercialisation 
of hydrocarbons to deliver superior 
shareholder returns.

A failure to do so may occur as a result 
of choosing a sub-optimal development 
option or failing to execute a project in 
a way that achieves our objectives in 
cost, schedule and quality. If we are 
unsuccessful in managing cost and 
productivity, the value we can secure 
from future developments will be 
reduced. Creating effective commercial 
arrangements with a range of partners, 
stakeholders and contractors is an 
important mechanism to offset this risk. 
Our historic and ongoing investment 
in robust and high-quality opportunity 
development and project management 
systems is also central to the management 
of such risks. 

The agreement of our joint venture 
participants to a particular course of 
action is often required to commercialise 
hydrocarbons, and we may have limited 
influence or control over these decisions. 
We address this risk by actively engaging 
with our joint venture participants 
to promote alignment on significant 
decisions.

Technology
Inability to successfully develop and deliver 
new enabling technology solutions within 
our business has the potential to inhibit 
our future performance. We are actively 
pursuing strategies to reduce unit costs for 
developments and maturing technology 
solutions in new business opportunities to 
deliver our strategic objectives.

RISKS

introduced by government may adversely 
impact the company’s financial standing.

Government action, or conversely inaction, 
may also negatively affect our ability to 
undertake future development activities 
or maximise value from existing assets. 
By increasing our global footprint, we 
are proactively maintaining ongoing and 
constructive relationships with both 
domestic and international governments 
and regulators.

Fraud and corruption

Violation of anti-bribery and corruption 
law may expose Woodside to fines, 
criminal sanctions and civil suits, as well 
as negatively impact our international 
reputation. 

Our Fraud and Corruption Control Program 
provides a clear framework to help 
prevent, detect and respond to dishonest 
or unethical behaviour. The framework 
incorporates policies, programs, training, 
standards and guidelines that help ensure 
that all activities are conducted ethically, 
honestly and to the highest possible 
standard.

Climate change

Continued and increasing attention on 
climate change has the potential to 
lead to additional measures impacting 
financial performance. We are focusing 
on improving our energy efficiency, 
maintaining engagement with key industry 
and government stakeholders and 
modelling the impact of climate change 
action on our business. Failure to manage 
this risk has the potential to increase costs, 
delay future projects, and lead to poor 
investment decisions.

Government and regulatory
Our business activities are subject to 
extensive regulation. Unforeseen change 

 Refer to the Corporate Governance 
Statement 2015 available on our website and 
the Sustainable Development Report 2015.

Unreasonable prejudice

Forward looking statements

As permitted by sections 299(3) and 
299A(3) of the Corporations Act 2001, we 
have omitted certain information from this 
operating and financial review in relation to 
our business strategy, future prospects and 
likely developments in our operations and 
the expected results of those operations 
in future financial years. We have done 
this on the basis that such information, 
if disclosed, would be likely to result in 
unreasonable prejudice to Woodside 
(for example, because the information 
is premature, commercially sensitive, 
confidential or could give a third party 
a commercial advantage). The omitted 
information relates to our internal budgets, 
forecasts and estimates, details of our 
business strategy, and LNG contractual 
pricing.

This report contains forward looking 
statements, including statements of 
current intention, statements of opinion and 
expectations regarding Woodside’s present 
and future operations, possible future 
events and future financial prospects. Such 
statements are not statements of fact and 
may be affected by a variety of known and 
unknown risks, variables and changes in 
underlying assumptions or strategy which 
could cause Woodside’s actual results 
or performance to differ materially from 
the results or performance expressed or 
implied by such statements. There can be 
no certainty of outcome in relation to the 
matters to which the statements relate, 
and the outcomes are not all within the 
control of Woodside. 

Further information on some important 
factors that could cause actual results or 
performance to differ materially from those 
projected in such statements is contained 
in the “Risk” section above. Woodside 
makes no representation, assurance or 
guarantee as to the accuracy or likelihood 
of fulfilment of any forward looking 
statement or any outcomes expressed or 
implied in any forward looking statement. 
The forward looking statements in this 
report reflect expectations held at the 
date of this report. Except as required by 
applicable law or the Australian Securities 
Exchange (ASX) Listing Rules, Woodside 
disclaims any obligation or undertaking 
to publicly update any forward looking 
statements, or discussion of future financial 
prospects, whether as a result of new 
information or of future events.

21

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW%

NORTH WEST SHELF

In 2015, the North West Shelf (NWS) Project delivered value through 
increasing production capacity and delivery of committed projects to schedule.

%

NWS production (Woodside share)

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Continued excellent improvement in 

process safety performance.

ƒƒ Executed a best-in-class LNG turnaround 

at the Karratha Gas Plant (KGP).

ƒƒ Achieved record continuous LNG 

production runtime at KGP. 

ƒƒ Produced first gas from the Greater 

Western Flank Phase 1 (GWF-1) Project. 

ƒƒ Approved the Greater Western Flank 

Phase 2 (GWF-2) Project.

ƒƒ Increased average annual production 

capacity from 16.3 to 16.7 million tonnes 
of LNG following system improvements 
and debottlenecking.

ƒƒ Progressed the Karratha Life Extension 
Program refurbishment on the domestic 
gas plant and fractionation units.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Continue focus on performance 

excellence and continuous improvement 
to achieve efficiency improvements 
across our operating assets.

ƒƒ Progress the Persephone and GWF-2 

Projects.

ƒƒ Consider a final investment decision 

(FID) for Lambert Deep.

ƒƒ Identify and mature prospects from the 

Fortuna 3D marine seismic survey.

ƒƒ Progress technical scopes of work and 
agreements with Hess Exploration 
Australia to support a decision to enter 
the front-end engineering and design 
(FEED) phase for the Equus Project.

ƒƒ Identify and pursue potential 

opportunities to process stranded gas  
of other operators through KGP.

22

NWS Project
Interest

16.67
50.001 

NWS Venture  
Domestic Gas joint 
venture (JV) 
16.671
Incremental Pipeline JV 
China LNG JV  
12.50
Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert  33.33 
and Hermes (crude oil)

Operator

Woodside

Facilities

North Rankin Complex
Goodwyn A platform 
Angel platform
Okha FPSO
Karratha Gas Plant

Location

Offshore facilities ~135 km  
north-west of Karratha, WA

Water depth 80  – 130 metres

Products

LNG, pipeline gas,  
condensate, crude oil and LPG

First 
production

1984 (pipeline gas) 
1989 (LNG)

1. During 2015, Woodside’s average share of pipeline gas 
production was approximately 45%. Woodside’s exact 
share of domestic gas production depends on the 
quantities and aggregate rate of production.

44.7

MMboe

NWS LNG

NWS domestic gas

NWS LPG

NWS condensate
NWS oil

MMboe %
51
29
2
13
5

22.7
13.1
0.7
5.7
2.5

In 2015, NWS contributed 44.7 MMboe to 
Woodside’s net production of 92.2 MMboe.

NWS key metrics (Woodside share)

NWS LNG reliability

2014

2015

Sales revenue 

(US$ million) 2,986

1,788

EBITDA

(US$ million) 2,278

1,333

Net gas 
production 

Net liquids 
production

Proved plus 
Probable 
Developed and 
Undeveloped 
reserves

(MMboe)

37.2

36.5

(MMbbl)

9.1

8.2

(MMboe) 462.9

416.4

6
7.
9

6
.
5
9

4
7.
9

9
.
3
9

8
.
2
9

11

12

13 14 15

)

(

%
y
t
i
l
i

b
a
i
l
e
r
e
g
a
r
e
v
A

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
Production performance

In 2015, Woodside’s share of production 
from the NWS Project was 44.7 MMboe, 
comprising 36.5 MMboe of gas (including 
13.1 MMboe of pipeline gas) and  
8.2 MMbbl of liquids. Pipeline gas 
reliability was 99.9% and production 
continued to meet customer 
demand in Western Australia.

from Fractionation Train 3; a unit not 
originally designed with this capability.

Execution of a major LNG maintenance 
turnaround at KGP was completed 
ahead of schedule and, along with timely 
completion of offshore maintenance 
scopes, ensured that system availability 
returned to planned levels seven days 
ahead of schedule. 

LNG marketing

The NWS Project exported 252 cargoes 
(total project) of LNG in 2015, of which  
36 were sold on the short and mid-term 
market. 

In 2015, the NWS Project progressed 
arrangements to enable equity lifting  
of uncontracted LNG and pipeline gas 
by the NWS Project participants. The 
Australian Competition and Consumer 
Commission’s authorisation for the 
NWS Project to jointly market pipeline 
gas expired on 31 December 2015. 
NWS Gas will continue to administer 
long-term contracts that were marketed 
by the six NWS Project participants.

Financial contribution

Woodside’s share of sales revenue from 
the NWS Project was US$1,788 million 
in 2015, approximately 36% of our total 
operating revenue.

Unit production costs decreased to  
US$4.18 per boe from US$5.22 per boe 
in 2014, underpinned by an ongoing 
focus on delivering cost efficiencies and 
performance excellence.

NWS delivered a unit cash margin of 
US$30 per boe in 2015, while productivity 
improvements continue to be implemented 
to ensure that profitability remains resilient  
in a low oil price environment. 

Operations excellence 

In 2015, we continued our focus on 
ensuring safe and reliable production, 
while reducing costs and sustaining a 
commitment to excellence across our 
operations. This year, LNG reliability of 
93.9% was achieved despite impacts to 
production from an electrical incident at the 
KGP in May. Discounting this incident, the 
underlying trend was for top-quartile LNG 
reliability.

Engineering and operations innovations 
delivered during the response and 
recovery from this incident not only helped 
to reduce production impacts but also 
delivered improved operational flexibility 
and robustness. These innovations 
resulted in KGP acquiring the ability to 
produce LNG without fractionation and for 
refrigerant-grade propane to be processed 

System improvements and 
debottlenecking delivered during the  
LNG turnaround resulted in KGP’s  
annual LNG production capacity increasing 
from 16.3 to 16.7 million tonnes of LNG. 

In 2015, the Karratha Life Extension 
(KLE) Program continued to plan and 
execute a portfolio of refurbishment 
scopes to extend the life of KGP, including 
completing activities on the domestic gas 
plant, stabilisation and fractionation units, 
and LNG trains. Preparations for a marine 
facilities campaign that will refurbish 
the LNG and LPG jetties have also 
commenced. 

The KLE program is approximately 16% 
complete and is targeting completion 
around 2025. Through KLE, about  
US$50–70 million will be invested by 
Woodside each year to deliver safe, 
efficient and predictable refurbishment  
and life extension works at the KGP.

Efficient development of  
NWS reserves 

Woodside’s substantial experience 
in delivering major subsea tieback 
projects is enabling the NWS Project to 
commercialise its existing gas reserves in a 
timely, cost-effective and efficient manner 
to extend plateau production.

First gas from the A$2.5 billion (100% 
project) GWF-1 Project was delivered 
ahead of schedule in late 2015. The 
project is developing the Goodwyn and 
Tidepole fields via a subsea tieback to the 
existing Goodwyn A platform. Initial gas 
has come from the Goodwyn field, with 
further production from the Tidepole field 
expected from early 2017. 

At the end of 2015, the A$1.2 billion  
(100% project) Persephone Project was 
51% complete, having undertaken platform 
modifications and commenced drilling and 
fabrication of key subsea infrastructure. 
Persephone is a two-well, 7 km subsea 
tieback from the Persephone field to the 
existing North Rankin Complex.  
The project will access approximately 
140 MMboe (100% project) to maintain 
offshore supply to the KGP and remains 
on budget and on schedule for start-up in 
early 2018.

NORTH WEST SHELF

In December, the NWS Project 
participants approved the US$2.0 billion 
(100% project) GWF-2 Project, which 
will develop approximately 317 MMboe 
(100% project) from the combined 
Keast, Dockrell, Sculptor, Rankin, Lady 
Nora and Pemberton fields using subsea 
infrastructure and a 35 km, 16" pipeline 
connecting to the existing Goodwyn 
A platform. Gas delivery will initially 
commence in 2H 2019 from five wells in 
the Lady Nora, Pemberton, Sculptor and 
Rankin fields, followed by the remaining 
three wells in the Keast and Dockrell fields 
in 1H 2020.

The proposed Lambert Deep development, 
a one-well, subsea tieback to the existing 
Angel platform, is continuing the FEED 
phase to enable a planned FID in 1H 2016. 

Extending our business beyond 
known reserves 

We are actively progressing opportunities 
to identify and develop hydrocarbon 
reserves to extend the life of the NWS 
Project by helping maintain offshore supply 
to meet onshore processing capacity. 

Preliminary data from the Fortuna 3D 
marine seismic survey was processed, 
and interpretation is underway, with final 
data products delivered in January 2016. 
Evaluation of this information will be 
used to identify potential development, 
exploration and infill opportunities. 

The NWS Project participants and 
Hess Exploration Australia executed an 
operational integration FEED agreement 
in Q1 2015 for the proposed Equus 
Project. Technical discussions continued 
on tolling of resources in the Carnarvon 
Basin through KGP to support a potential 
entry into the FEED phase for the Project 
in 2016. 

Outlook

In 2016, we will continue to optimise 
production from our current assets, 
deliver value from remaining hydrocarbon 
resources in NWS acreage and maintain 
our focus on performance excellence 
and continuous improvement to achieve 
cost savings and deliver reliability 
improvements. 

23

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWPLUTO LNG

The Perth-based Pluto Support Centre delivered improved operational 
efficiencies through our innovative approach to remote operations, maintaining 
high standards of health, safety and environmental management.

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Achieved top-quartile LNG reliability, 

averaging 96.9%.

ƒƒ Delivered the first major turnaround  

ten days ahead of schedule.

ƒƒ Commenced Xena Phase 1 production. 

ƒƒ Started up the sixth production well in 

the Pluto field.

ƒƒ Discovered additional gas for future  
tie-back with the Pyxis-1 exploration 
well. 

ƒƒ Implemented capacity enhancement 

modifications to the LNG train to further 
increase Pluto LNG capacity.

Future objectives

Pluto  
Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

WA-34-L
WA-404-P

Woodside

Pluto platform
Pluto LNG Plant

Pluto and Xena fields, 190 km  
north-west of Karratha, WA 
(the location of the gas plant)

Water depth

400 – 1,000 metres

Products

LNG and condensate

First  
production

2012

Pluto production (Woodside share)

%

90 
100

37.5

MMboe

Pluto LNG
Pluto condensate

MMboe %
93
7

34.8
2.7

In 2015, Pluto contributed 37.5 MMboe to 
Woodside’s net production of 92.2 MMboe.

ƒƒ Deliver safe and sustained reliable 

production and sales.

Pluto key metrics  
(Woodside share)

Pluto LNG reliability

ƒƒ Protect long-term supply.

2014 2015

1
7.
9

9
.
6
9

ƒƒ Increase plant utilisation through further  
capacity enhancements and availability 
improvements.

Operating 
revenue

(US$ million) 3,440

2,377

EBITDA

(US$ million) 3,131

2,051

(MMboe)

37.3

34.8

(MMbbl)

2.9

2.7

7
.
0
9

2
7.
8

)

%

(
y
t
i
l
i

b
a
i
l
e
r
e
g
a
r
e
v
A

(MMboe) 842.4

802.7

12 13 14 15

In 2015, our focus on operational excellence 
delivered top-quartile LNG reliability at Pluto.

Net gas 
production 

Net liquids 
production

Proved plus 
Probable 
Developed and 
Undeveloped 
reserves

24

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
Production performance

Production results were above plan, 
primarily due to strong reliability and 
system optimisation. Woodside’s share  
of production from Pluto LNG was  
37.5 MMboe in 2015, comprising  
34.8 MMboe of LNG and 2.7 MMbbl  
of condensate. 

In June, we completed our first major 
turnaround on Pluto in 25 days, ten 
days ahead of the original schedule due 
to disciplined planning and technical 
innovations. The turnaround execution was 
outstanding across several areas, including 
health and safety performance, quality, and 
cost savings. The scope involved onshore 
plant activities to maintain the integrity of 
plant equipment, as well as minor capacity 
enhancements and offshore work to 
support the Xena tie-in. 

The Xena Phase-1 Project was completed 
ahead of schedule, with production 
commencing in June. Xena, the sixth 
production well and the Pyxis discovery 
will support Pluto production and future 
growth. 

The fifth Pluto production well has 
not performed to expectations due to 
mechanical issues. The well will be 
reinstated in 2016 by side tracking the 
existing well-bore.

The Perth-based Pluto Support Centre 
delivered improved operational efficiencies 
through our innovative approach to 
remote operations while maintaining 
high standards of health, safety and 
environmental management. The 
operating model provides the opportunity 
to build capability in this emerging area 
and further develop processes, practices 
and technology for the next generation of 
Woodside LNG facilities.

LNG marketing

Pluto LNG delivered 66 cargoes of LNG 
in 2015 and, since start-up in 2012, we 
have delivered a total of 229 cargoes1 (total 
project). In August 2015, we reached a 
significant milestone, loading our 200th 
cargo since start-up in 2012. 

While the majority of volumes were sold 
under long and mid-term agreements with 
premium Japanese and Korean energy 
buyers, incremental value was derived 
from the sale of six upside cargoes on 
the spot market, three of which were 
produced as a result of the reduced 
turnaround time in June. Four incremental 
gas-up and cool-down (GUCD) services 
were also provided to third-party vessels. 
GUCDs involve loading a partial LNG cargo 
to a warm LNG vessel in readiness for an 
efficient full cargo loading. 

Our focus on capacity improvements 
and reliability ensured that we offset 
the production disruption caused by the 
precautionary shutdown in Q1 2015, when 
a third-party semi-submersible drilling 
rig drifted near Pluto flowlines during a 
cyclone. Our strong operational capabilities 
enabled an efficient response to and 
recovery from this incident.

Financial contribution

Woodside’s share of revenue from 
Pluto was US$2,377 million, comprising 
US$2,067 million of LNG revenue,  
US$130 million condensate revenue and 
US$180 million from processing revenue.  
This represented about 47% of 
Woodside’s total operating revenues.

1. Includes some partial cargoes.

PLUTO LNG

Unit production costs were  
US$5.48 per boe in 2015, despite  
suffering from a precautionary  
shutdown in Q1 2015 and undergoing  
the first major planned turnaround in June.  
Pluto delivered a unit cash margin of 
US$50 per boe in 2015.

Conservation Agreement

Under the A$34 million Pluto LNG 
Conservation Agreement with the 
Australian Government, we continue to 
support initiatives that protect and promote 
the living culture and National Heritage 
values of the Burrup Peninsula in Western 
Australia. To date, we have spent more 
than A$18 million on projects related to this 
agreement. A key initiative in 2015 was the 
Women in the Picture: Murujuga Dreaming, 
Art and Landscapes scoping study. 

This study identifies sites and stories 
related to the Burrup which are important 
to women today and which preserve 
scientific or archaeological information 
about women in the past. We will 
contribute a further A$4 million to the 
display and curatorship of rock art in 2016 
and look forward to building upon the 
progress and success of projects in 2016.

Outlook

We remain focused on maintaining  
plant capacity and future growth. Drilling 
activities are planned to commence in 
Q2 2016 to reinstate production on the 
fifth production well in the Pluto field. 
Further development studies on the 
Pyxis-1 exploration well will be undertaken, 
including sub surface analysis and 
geotechnical and geophysical surveys.

In December 2015, we commenced a  
4D marine seismic survey. The information 
acquired will be used to maximise 
hydrocarbon recovery and use of our 
existing Pluto infrastructure, with data 
processing to occur in 2016.

Woodside continues to drive continuous 
improvement initiatives following the 
implementation of our Pluto Support 
Centre.

Since start-up in 
2012, Pluto LNG 
has delivered a 
step change for 
Woodside’s equity 
production and 
revenue.

25

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWAUSTRALIA OIL

In 2015, we enhanced the value of our floating production storage and 
offloading (FPSO) fleet by improving reliability and productivity and continued 
to focus on reducing costs.

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Increased productivity and efficiency 
through the One FPSO standardised 
operating model. 

ƒƒ Entered into a conditional agreement 
to sell our interests in the Laminaria-
Corallina Joint Venture.

ƒƒ Completed the Vincent Phase IV well.

ƒƒ Entered the front-end engineering and 
design (FEED) phase for the proposed 
Greater Enfield Development.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Continue the One FPSO initiative to 
further reduce costs and increase 
efficiency.

ƒƒ Increase focus on productivity 

improvements to deliver cost savings 
in a lower oil price environment.

ƒƒ Complete the sale of the Laminaria-

Corallina assets. 

ƒƒ Consider a final investment decision 

(FID) on the Greater Enfield 
Development.

26

Australia Oil  
(excludes NWS oil, Woodside share)

2014

2015

Sales revenue 

(US$ million)

EBITDA*

(US$ million)

825

505

(MMbbl)

8.4

510

249

9.8

Net liquids 
production

Proved plus 
Probable 
Developed and 
Undeveloped 
reserves

(MMboe)

33.2

27.7

Australian oil assets delivered a unit cash margin 
of $27 per boe in 2015.

*Excludes onerous lease costs.

Australia Oil production  
(excludes NWS oil, Woodside share) 

9.8

MMboe

Vincent
Balnaves
Enfield
Laminaria-Corrallina 
Stybarrow

MMboe %
56
20
12
9
3

5.5
2.0
1.2
0.8
0.3

In 2015, Australia Oil (non-NWS) contributed  
9.8 MMbbl to Woodside’s net production of 
92.2 MMboe, up from 8.4 MMbbl.

%

60

Vincent oil field 

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

First production

WA-28-L
Woodside
Ngujima-Yin FPSO
45 km off the  
North West Cape, WA
350 – 400 metres
Crude oil
August 2008

Vincent has produced 55.4 MMbbl  
(100% project) of oil since start-up in 2008. 
Annual production was 9.2 MMbbl  
(5.5 MMbbl Woodside share). The Vincent 
Phase IV in-fill well came online in June 
and has produced 1.7 MMbbl. 

%

65

Balnaves oil field 

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

First production

WA-49-L
Woodside
Armada Claire FPSO
~180 km north-west  
of Karratha, WA
135 metres
Crude oil
August 2014

Balnaves has produced 3.0 MMbbl 
(100% project) of oil since completion of 
the acquisiton in April 2015 (2.0 MMbbl 
Woodside share). The FPSO commenced 
commissioning operations in 2014, and 
has since been integrated into Woodside’s 
fleet under a leased operating model. 
Overall performance has been less than 
expected.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015AUSTRALIA OIL

INTERNATIONAL

Canada1 

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

%

50

Liard and  
Horn River Basins
Chevron2
Pipeline
North-east British Columbia, 
Canada
Not applicable, onshore
Natural gas

1. Canada reserves and resource estimates are provided on pages 38 and 39.

2. Woodside was operator for a six-week transitional period between April and May.

The Liard and Horn River Basins produced 0.2 MMboe  
(Woodside share) of natural gas into the Canadian domestic grid 
since the transaction was completed in April 2015. The produced 
gas is a result of the appraisal program being undertaken to 
support the Kitimat LNG Project. 

  See more on page 47.

%

60

Enfield oil field 

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

First production

WA-28-L

Woodside

Nganhurra FPSO
40 km off the  
North West Cape, WA
400 – 500 metres
Crude oil
July 2006

Enfield has produced 76.3 MMbbl (100% project) of oil 
since start-up in 2006. Annual production of 2.0 MMbbl 
(1.2 MMbbl Woodside share) for 2015 continued to 
reflect reliable performance. Production was consistent 
with anticipated natural field decline in 2015.

Laminaria-Corallina oil fields 

%

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

First production

59.901

66.67 

Laminaria 
Corallina
AC/L5
Woodside
Northern Endeavour FPSO
Timor Sea, 550 km  
north-west of Darwin
340 metres
Crude oil
1999

1. Interests on a post-unitisation basis, i.e. after agreeing to pool Woodside’s 
interest with other field owners and to exploit the field as a single venture.

The Laminaria-Corallina oil fields have delivered over 200 MMbbl 
(100% project) of oil production since commencing in 1999. 
Lower production of 1.4 MMbbl (0.8 MMbbl Woodside share) 
for 2015 is consistent with anticipated natural field decline. 

In September 2015, Woodside entered into a conditional 
agreement to sell interests in the Laminaria-Corallina Joint Venture, 
and the parties are working towards satisfaction of the conditions 
to enable closing of the transaction. The transaction is expected to 
be completed in 1H 2016. 

%

50

Stybarrow oil field 

Interest

Operator

Facilities

Location

Water depth

Products

WA-32-L
BHP Billiton

Stybarrow Venture FPSO

~50 km off the  
North West Cape, WA
825 metres
Crude oil

First production November 2007

Stybarrow has produced over 60 MMbbl (100% project)  
of oil since start-up in 2007. Production of 0.6 MMbbl  
(0.3 MMbbl Woodside share) in 2015 reflects natural reservoir 
decline. Production permanently ceased in June 2015, and 
decommissioning activities have commenced.

Outlook

We will continue to enhance the value of our FPSO fleet by 
improving reliability and productivity and continuing our focus 
on reducing costs. In 2016, we will continue to standardise the 
way we work across our FPSO fleet. The One FPSO operating 
model will continue to improve operational efficiencies and cost 
performance as we prepare for end of field activities on producing 
assets. Additional growth is created by understanding the value 
proposition of the Greater Enfield Development. 

  To read more about Greater Enfield, go to page 45.

Image courtesy of Chevron Canada.

Natural gas for the Kitimat LNG Project will be sourced from the  
Horn River and Liard Basins in British Columbia, Western Canada. 

27

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWLNG MARKETING

Woodside’s marketing strategy  
in 2015 
During 2015, Woodside made good 
progress on its LNG marketing and trading 
strategy: transitioning from a point-to-point 
to a portfolio-based seller and bolstering 
trading capabilities. Our aim is to offer 
customers competitive and flexible supply 
terms, backed by our substantial existing 
and potential equity LNG and third-party 
sources. Key elements of our marketing 
strategy include: leveraging our strong 
suite of existing LNG contracts; expanding 
trading and shipping activities; and 
expanding our portfolio of supply options. 

Browse marketing
Woodside is making every effort to 
achieve cost targets and secure LNG 
contracts that deliver an economically 
robust project. Accordingly, we enhanced 
our marketing efforts when Browse 
entered front-end engineering and design 
in 2015. We are engaging with key Asian 
and regional customers with the objective 
of securing Browse FLNG foundation 
sales. 

Global LNG market 
Our marketing strategy reflects a rapidly 
changing LNG industry, which continues to 
grow, evolve and diversify. Key trends for 
the global LNG market include:

ƒƒ an expanding customer and demand 
base, in part facilitated by new LNG 
import receiving infrastructure in 
emerging markets, albeit with some 
moderation in growth rates for certain 
markets (e.g. China);

ƒƒ ongoing evolution of the short-term LNG 
market, with 2015 featuring significant 
incremental buying activity from Middle-
East importers (including new LNG 
buyers Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan), and 
changing dynamics in trade flows and 
price arbitrage; 

ƒƒ substantial growth in the size of the 

global LNG shipping fleet, and improved 
fuel efficiency of newly built vessels; 
and

ƒƒ a broadening LNG supply base and 
variety of supplier business models, 
providing LNG buyers and suppliers with 
increased diversity in choice of LNG 
pricing structures; geographic location 
of supply; the number of suppliers; 
LNG heating value; LNG production 
technology (e.g. FLNG); and a mix of 
short, mid and long-term contracting 
arrangements.

28

About 1301 million tonnes of new supply 
currently under construction is expected 
to ramp up over the next five years, 
mostly from projects in Australia and the 
US. While much of this volume is already 
under long-term contract with buyers, it is 
expected to increase liquidity in the global 
LNG market. 

Multiple sources of LNG demand 
growth 

Diversification and growth opportunities 
include new LNG customers in emerging 
markets and in established LNG markets, 
where gas and power sector deregulation 
is occurring. 

In addition, the longer-term outlook 
includes substantial recontracting demand 
from the traditional Asian LNG buyers in 
Japan, Korea, Taiwan (i.e. replacement 
of expiring contracts from legacy supply 
projects) and potential increased LNG 
import into the sizable European gas 
market (approximately 500 BCM per 
year2). European demand is partly as a 
result of expiring contracts, and also due to 
expected decline in indigenous natural gas 
production.

200

150

100

a
p
t
m

50

0
2020

Asia LNG contracting potential3

2030

Other Asia-Pacific uncontracted LNG 
demand growth
Recontracting opportunities from 
traditional buyers
(Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China)

Dynamic short-term market activity 
amid lower prices

Dynamic LNG trading activity, an increased 
prevalence of shorter-term contracts  
(i.e. spot sales and contracts with a 
duration of less than two years) and an 
expanding set of participants are now 
established components of the global  
LNG market. 

The 2015 calendar year featured some 
different trade flows and drivers compared 
to 2014, namely: increased buying activity 
out of the Middle East and India; and the 
reduction of the price arbitrage to shift 
significant quantities of Atlantic cargoes  
to Asia. 

Short-term LNG prices traded significantly 
lower, on average about US$7.50/MMBtu 
in 2015, compared to an average of about  
US$14/MMBtu for 2014. The reduction 
in spot prices has been due to the 
combination of: lower oil prices; weaker 
short-term LNG demand, in particular  
due to milder weather across a number of 
markets and China’s economic slowdown; 
and increased LNG supply with the  
ramp-up of LNG supply from Queensland 
and Papua New Guinea.

Industry FID support required to 
avoid long-term LNG shortfall

Compared to recent years, the pace of 
positive FIDs on LNG projects slowed 
in 2015, with two Greenfield4 and two 
Brownfield expansion5 projects approved, 
amounting to an additional aggregate 
capacity of about 20 mtpa. 

The global supply and demand outlook 
indicates that existing and under 
construction supply is expected to be 
sufficient to meet demand until around 
2022. Thereafter, a supply gap grows 
substantially to 2030, signalling the need 
for annual additions of around 20 mtpa 
through project life extensions and new 
supply.

Given the current lower oil price 
environment and review of capital 
expenditure budgets by oil and gas 
companies globally, Woodside anticipates 
that only the most commercial LNG 
projects will be sanctioned, whilst other 
projects will be delayed or cancelled, 
resulting in a more modest growth rate 
for the industry as a whole. Noting that 
the lead-time for new supply can be five 
to six years, achieving a positive FID in a 
lower oil price environment is a shared 
industry-wide challenge and will require 
support from customers, contractors, and 
governments. 

1. WoodMackenzie, LNG Tool.
2. IHS Energy.
3 WoodMackenzie and Woodside data.

4. Cameroon GoFLNG, Corpus Christi.
5. Sabine Pass Train 5, Freeport Train 3.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Global LNG supply and demand6

Continued LNG price diversification 

~200 mtpa supply 
must come online to 
support 2030 demand

New FIDs required 
now to support 
2022 demand

600

500

400

a
p
t
m

300

200

100

0

2015

2030

Probable development
Projects under construction
Operational
WoodMackenzie demand

6. WoodMackenzie (Q4 2015) and Woodside data.

Further long-term contracting 
opportunities across existing and 
emerging markets

Experienced buyers from the established 
markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan are 
expected to secure new supply to avoid 
long-term shortfalls and to leverage market 
conditions. 

Emerging markets including Thailand, 
India, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, 
Pakistan, and Jordan are an important LNG 
demand growth sector. The importance 
of long-term contracts is recognised in the 
industry, with new importers committing 
to stable, secure supply in the form of long-
term agreements. During 2015, Indonesia, 
Thailand and a number of emerging buyers 
in China each announced long-term supply 
agreements. 

Europe is regarded as a market with the 
potential to take increasing volumes of 
LNG, particularly from the US. While 
overall gas demand growth in Europe is 
relatively flat, it remains the largest gas 
import region in the world, and is an open 
and flexible market with the infrastructure 
to accommodate further LNG supply. 
Woodside will seek to leverage existing 
end-buyer and trading relationships in this 
market to develop new opportunities, 
particularly to support on-selling and 
optimisation of Woodside’s future  
US LNG volumes. 

The short-term LNG market features a 
variety of short-term pricing structures, 
including fixed pricing and negotiated 
indexation to movements in oil prices and 
gas hub markers. In 2015, there was an 
increased use in the industry of tenders 
(buy-side and sell-side) to execute short 
and medium-term sales arrangements. 
The Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) 
also launched the SGX LNG Index Group 
(SLInG) as an exchange traded spot index 
for Asian LNG. 

Long-term contracts are expected to 
feature an evolving set of pricing structures 
including indexation to oil, Henry Hub, and 
to a lesser extent other gas hubs such as 
National Balancing Point. For Woodside’s 
core Asia-Pacific market, oil linkage is 
expected to remain the most prevalent 
index, with Henry Hub linkage growing to 
around 20% of the market in the period 
2020–2030. 

Shipping opportunities in the 
current market 

LNG shipping capacity is expanding rapidly, 
with 22 vessels added to the global fleet 
in 2015, and a further 140+ LNG ships 
on order. While many of these vessels 
are committed to projects, a number are 
unallocated or speculative vessels. On the 
back of lower LNG prices and the LNG 
ship capacity ramp-up, short-term LNG 
ship charter rates are at their lowest levels 
since 2010. 

Strong suite of existing LNG 
contracts

Woodside’s portfolio currently has the 
majority of volumes committed under 
existing long-term and mid-term sales 
arrangements. 

Through 2016, Woodside will continue to 
have limited exposure to spot pricing with 
more than 95% of expected production 
committed under mid and long-term 
contracts. There is some optionality to 
increase exposure if spot prices exceed  
term contract prices. 

As some mid-term contracts 
(predominantly underpinned by Pluto 
volumes) expire in 2017, Woodside will 
continue to target spot exposure of less 
than 10% of its total expected production 
including targeting flexibility to choose 
between spot and term pricing for some 
volumes. Woodside is currently discussing 
options for roll-over and replacement of its 
mid-term contracts more than 12 months 
in advance of expiry of those contracts.

Woodside’s acquisition of an interest in 
the Wheatstone Project added further 

LNG MARKETING UPDATE

high-quality LNG contracts with Japanese 
buyers to our existing suite of committed 
LNG. 

The North West Shelf Project successfully 
completed price review negotiations 
with two key customers during 2015. 
Woodside’s share of NWS LNG production, 
subject to price review in 2016, equates to 
approximately 1.3 mtpa. The NWS equity 
lifting transitional arrangements put in 
place in 2015 enabled Woodside to on-sell 
four transitional cargoes during 2015 at a 
premium to short-term market indexes.

Expanding trading and shipping 
activities

Woodside demonstrated another 
successful year in trading in 2015, with 
focus continuing on building our trading 
capability to support our existing projects. 
This includes actively seeking optionality 
and flexibility to enable optimisation of 
Woodside’s current LNG portfolio, and 
building relationships with buyers to 
position for future portfolio volumes.

In general, Woodside sells LNG on a 
delivered basis. As such, we have entered 
into long-term shipping arrangements for 
two approximately 174,000m3 ships, one 
for delivery in 2016 and one for delivery 
in 2017, taking advantage of the present 
competitive shipping market in support 
of further trading activities as well as 
underpinning long-term supply from our 
global portfolio.

Expanding portfolio of supply 
options 

Woodside has a competitive and 
increasingly diversified LNG supply 
portfolio to progress incremental sales 
arrangements. Woodside’s customer value 
propositions are backed by substantial 
existing and future Australian supply,  
US LNG, potential LNG from  
West Coast Canada, and a proven track 
record in LNG shipping and operations. 

Historically, Woodside’s LNG capacity has 
been launched based on foundation sales 
into Japan, Korea and China. However, 
to compete in the evolving global LNG 
market, and aggregate sufficient long-
term sales to support Woodside’s growth 
aspirations, a multi-market engagement 
strategy is being implemented. This 
strategy focuses on the substantial 
recontracting demand from traditional 
Asian LNG markets, LNG growth from 
the emerging Asia-Pacific markets 
and diversification opportunities into 
Europe, Latin America and the Middle 
East. Woodside’s portfolio supplies will 
be sourced from its equity production, 
committed purchases and short-term 
trading opportunities. 

29

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWOUR PEOPLE

Our Republic of Korea office supports our exploration interests in offshore Korea and our marketing and trading activities across Asia.

We continue to build a values-led, high-performance culture in support of our 
vision to become a global leader in upstream oil and gas. 

2015 Key performance highlights

Graduate recruitment

Indigenous employment outcomes

2.6 2.6

2.7

2.3

1
0
2 1
9

9
9

4
9

2.2

4
8

11

12

13 14 15

Indigenous employees
Percentage of workforce

The number of Indigenous employees 
(permanent/fixed-term) remained stable 
during 2015. Woodside continued supporting 
Indigenous pathways, with 23 participants 
successfully converting to Woodside 
employment in 2015.

ƒƒ Increased engagement from 63% to 
70% in the 2015 Employee Survey, 
above the oil and gas industry 
benchmark.

ƒƒ Delivered efficiency gains through 

reshaping our organisation, reducing 
organisational layers and improving our 
managers’ spans of control.

ƒƒ Continued to attract high-quality 

graduates at levels comparable to our 
2015 graduate intake; 108 for 2016 
compared to 103 for 2015.

ƒƒ Implemented a new international 

secondment program to build capability 
for global growth.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Implement the 2016 – 2020 

Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

ƒƒ Develop and implement actions  

which continue to build a values-led, 
high-performing organisation.

ƒƒ Refine our approach to executive 
development to strengthen our 
succession plans.

ƒƒ Continue to implement the gender 

diversity strategy.

30

3
0
1

9
5

8
0
1

5
5

1
7

7
3

1
5

5
3

6
4

3
2

6
1

3
2

4
3

4
4

3
5

11

12

13 14 15

Male
Female

Woodside has increased its graduate 
intake, with a focus on sustaining a diverse 
workforce. We recruited 108 graduates in 
2015, up from 103 in 2014. 

Number of full-time equivalents 
(FTEs)

0
2
3

4
8
0
,
4

2
3
3

4
6
7
,
3

2
3
4
,
3

s
E
T
F

Positions as at January 2014
FTEs as at December 2014
Reductions achieved
FTEs as at December 2015

In 2015, FTEs reduced by 9%, a 20% 
cumulative reduction since the end of 2013. 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Building culture and capability

Productivity progress

The results of our 2015 Employee Survey 
indicated the progress made towards 
strengthening our culture. The results 
showed that we have a more engaged 
and enabled workforce, and continued 
strong commitment to Woodside’s values. 
Our employees are experiencing good 
collaboration within teams and strong 
encouragement to innovate and improve 
effectiveness. 

Our productivity program aimed to improve 
organisational efficiency by 10% to 20% 
throughout 2014 and 2015. This has been 
achieved through reduced organisational 
layers, improved spans of control and 
an 18% reduction in management roles. 
Overall, we have achieved a  
20% improvement in organisational 
efficiency, and this will be maintained 
throughout 2016.

Our Leadership and Management 
Development framework provided 
guidance to leaders on building capability 
for leading people, results and growth. 
We continued to embed the principles 
of leader-led development, enabling our 
current leaders to develop our future 
leaders from within the business. 

In 2015, we reduced spending on formal 
education programs, in step with our cost 
reduction initiatives. We are committed 
to developing our people, focusing 
on experience and relationship-based 
learning, and providing in-house training 
to ensure that we have the capability 
required to sustain growth. In 2015, 
913 employees participated in in-house 
continuous improvement training. We 
continue to offer cross-functional rotations 
to provide experience-based development 
for employees, increasing the number of 
participants by 10% in 2015. 

In 2015, 141 participants completed core 
skills development through the Woodside 
Production Academy. We continue to 
achieve a high conversion to employment 
rate, with 85% of the 29 trainees and 
apprentices who completed their programs 
securing employment.

Developing a diverse workforce

In 2015, we began a three-year strategy to 
drive sustainable improvements in gender 
diversity at all levels of the workforce. 
Overall female representation slightly 
increased to 28% in 2015, comparing 
favourably with the average of 16% 
women in the Australian resources sector1.

We continue to focus on driving 
gender balance through our Graduate 
Development Program intake and 
apprenticeship and traineeship schemes. 
In 2015, 49% of our graduate intake and 
21% of our apprentice and trainee intake 
were female. Woodside has taken action 
to broaden the pool of future female talent 
at school and university levels with eight 
gender-specific scholarships awarded.

All employees, regardless of their 
employment type, have access to the 
same financial and non-financial benefits. 
This was confirmed in the annual 
remuneration review to ensure pay parity 
between men and women on a salary line 
and job level basis.

Voluntary turnover for women has fallen 
from 8.7% in 2014 to 4.9% in 2015 and 
is lower than the overall organisational 
turnover of 5.7%. Throughout 2015, we 
focused on women in mid-career and, 
encouragingly, the turnover in this group 
reduced to 3.1%.

1. Source: Workplace Gender Equality Agency 2015.

OUR PEOPLE

Following strong internal promotions and 
improved retention, women now hold 
13.8% of senior management roles and  
12.8% of executive positions, exceeding 
the annual target set in the three-year 
strategy.

By the end of 2015, Woodside employed 
94 Indigenous people, representing 2.7% 
of Woodside’s workforce. Turnover of 
Indigenous employees decreased from 
14% in 2014 to 3.2% in 2015, and progress 
has been made in developing a pipeline of 
future Indigenous talent. 

We have met or exceeded all targets for 
our Pathways Programs. Our Pathways 
Programs provide individuals with the 
opportunity to develop the skills needed 
for Woodside employment roles, such 
as mechanical fitters, electrical and 
instrumentation technicians, laboratory 
technicians, logistics and operations 
support, IT desktop support and business 
administration. There are currently 28 
participants in our Pathways Programs and 
conversion of trainees and apprentices is at 
83%. In 2015, we awarded ten additional 
cadetships to increase the pool of talent 
for Woodside’s Graduate Program intake. 
A total of 23 scholarships were awarded, 
comprising ten community scholarships 
and 13 scholarships directly related to 
Woodside’s future capability needs. 

A new RAP has been designed and 
approved for 2016 to 2020, continuing 
Woodside’s investment in opportunities  
for Indigenous people.

Outlook

In 2016, actions will be developed and 
implemented to maintain momentum in 
building a values-led, high-performing 
organisation. We will continue to 
implement our strategy to develop and 
promote from within, focusing on entry 
level hiring and sustaining our industry-
leading Graduate Development Program.

  Further information can be found in the 
Corporate Governance Statement 2015, 
available on our website.

Karratha Gas Plant 
process plant 
operator  
and Production 
Academy graduate  
Sandra Van Der 
Gaag was named 
Australia’s 2015 
Trainee of the Year.

31

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWHEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY AND 
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

In 2015, we were awarded two APPEA Health and Safety Awards in 
recognition of our outstanding performance in the industry.

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Recorded a 10% improvement in total 

recordable injury rate.

ƒƒ Improve and embed process safety 
through a focus on people, plant and 
processes.

ƒƒ Awarded two Australian Petroleum 

Tier 2 process safety events (PSEs)

Production and Exploration Association 
(APPEA) Health and Safety Awards 
for the novel use of remote digital 
video inspection during the Pluto LNG 
turnaround. 

5

4

ƒƒ Joined the Voluntary Principles on 

Security and Human Rights Association 
and commenced a program to 
implement the principles across the 
business. 

ƒƒ Rated amongst the highest in our peer 
group for our Fraud and Corruption 
Control Program.

ƒƒ Recorded no Tier 1 process safety 

events.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Progress towards achieving global  

top-quartile health and safety 
performance in 2017.

ƒƒ Focus on human factors, and excellence 
in leadership to continually improve our 
health and safety culture.

ƒƒ Improve leading indicators for health 

risk management and support personal 
wellbeing programs that focus on 
occupational factors and mental health.

e
m

i
t

t
s
o
L

ƒƒ Increase emergency management and 
response competencies across the 
organisation to ensure high levels of 
prevention, preparedness and response.

32

2

2

In 2012, Woodside 
commenced classifying 
PSEs in accordance with 
American Petroleum Institute 
Recommended Practice 
754, to enable global 
benchmarking.

12 13 14 15

A typical Tier 1 PSE is loss of containment of hydrocarbons 
greater than 500 kg (in any one-hour period). 

Lost time injury and lost time 
injury frequency (LTIF)

y
r
u
n

j

i

d
e
k
r
o
w
s
r
u
o
h
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

r
e
p
F
I
T
L

0.62

0.94

0.43

0.43

0.22

18

18

6

3

6

11

12

13 14 15

Total recordable injury rate (TRIR) 
performance

d
e
k
r
o
w
s
r
u
o
h
n
o

i
l
l
i

m

r
e
p
R
R
T

I

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Woodside (actual)
IOGP1 top-quartile (actual)
IOGP1 top-quartile (expected)

Our approach

In 2015, we completed a major project 
to simplify and streamline our health, 
safety and environment system processes 
and procedures, making it easier for all 
employees to understand and comply with 
Woodside’s standards. 

We continued to implement our strategic 
health and safety roadmap, making 
solid progress towards delivering on our 
aspiration of global top-quartile health and 
safety performance. Focus areas in 2015 
included:

ƒƒ improving health risk assessment 

processes and tools;

ƒƒ increasing emergency management 

and response competencies across the 

A typical Tier 2 PSE is loss of containment of hydrocarbons 
greater than 50 kg but less than 500 kg (in any one-hour 
period).

1. Woodside has benchmarked its TRIR against global  

top-quartile performance of the International Association of 
Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP). 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
organisation to ensure high levels of 
prevention, preparedness and response;

ƒƒ improving the management of process 

safety within our business; and

ƒƒ improving human factors awareness, 

understanding and engagement.

2015 performance
We demonstrated strong performance in 
health and safety throughout 2015. 

There were no work-related fatalities, or 
recordable injuries with the potential for 
fatality. We recorded no Tier 1 process 
safety events, but two Tier 2 events.

The number of recordable injuries 
decreased by 8% and the total recordable 
injury rate (TRIR), which measures the 
number of recordable injuries per one 
million hours worked, decreased by 10% 
compared with 2014 performance. 

The number of lost time injuries (LTIs) 
increased from three in 2014 to six in 
2015. None of the injuries had the potential 
to result in a fatality or permanent total 
disability. 

We were awarded two APPEA health 
and safety awards in September, 
demonstrating industry and peer 
recognition for our performance and 
delivery of continuous improvement in  
health and safety initiatives.

Key initiatives delivered

Human factors 

We delivered a program to support our 
objectives in human factors. We focused 
on four strategic areas: setting people up to 
succeed through good design; guidelines 
that focus on human reliability on critical 
tasks; improvements on how we consider 
human factors in our investigations, and 
supporting materials for Woodside’s Our 
Safety Culture framework.

Process safety

Process safety is our disciplined 
framework for managing the integrity 
of systems and processes that handle 
hazardous substances over the exploration 
and production life cycle. It relies on good 
design principles and good engineering, 
operating and maintenance practices.

We continue to execute a major project 
to improve the delivery of process safety 
management requirements. The project 
centres on the development of a new 
set of minimum requirements to ensure 
that wherever we operate, we apply 
a standardised approach to managing 
process safety. 

Health and wellbeing

We delivered our health and wellbeing 
activities, complying with health 
regulations and licence to operate 

HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

obligations, as well as maintaining and 
monitoring fitness for work of all staff and 
contractors. In 2015, we strengthened 
occupational health through the revision 
of the health risk assessments and 
implementation of an integrated platform 
to allow easier recording, monitoring and 
reporting of programs and results. We 
continue to provide a suite of programs 
that support employee personal wellbeing.

Stand Together for Safety

Woodside’s annual Stand Together for 
Safety week was marked with a number 
of company-wide activities around the 
theme ‘working together we keep each 
other safe: building the connection’. The 
campaign focused on visible leadership 
from everyone at Woodside, where 
all employees were encouraged to 
demonstrate a commitment to Woodside’s 
health and safety goals, increase their 
awareness of the processes and tools 
and participate in activities that build 
relationships within and between teams. 

Security and emergency 
management
In a dynamic domestic and international 
security environment, Woodside’s security 
and emergency management team 
worked to ensure that the company’s 
people, assets and operations globally 
remain protected from existing and 
emerging security threats. In response 
to Woodside’s global growth initiatives, 
Woodside joined the Voluntary Principles 
on Security and Human Rights Association 
and commenced a program to implement 
the principles across the business. 

To complement the existing emergency 
and crisis management framework, a 
new oil spill preparedness capability was 
established in 2015, enabling continuous 
improvements of Woodside’s oil spill 
preparedness capabilities both in Australia 
and internationally. The overall emergency 
preparedness framework includes an 
extensive training and exercise program to 
ensure that Woodside is able to respond to 
and is resilient to foreseen and unforeseen 
events on a global level.

Woodside’s Fraud and Corruption Control 
Program was maintained, and further 
improvements made, including an increase 
in the number of third-party audits and 
refinements to the due diligence process 
for new opportunities in locations including 
Myanmar and East and West Africa. 
Woodside’s Fraud and Corruption Control 
Program was rated among the highest in 
its peers by the Dow Jones Sustainability 
Index.

Outlook
In 2016, we will continue to embed the  
key elements of our health and safety 
strategy, including leadership and 
engagement, process safety, contractor 
management and health and wellbeing, in 
order to consistently deliver outstanding 
health and safety performance in all areas 
of our business. 

Additionally, we will apply continuous 
improvement initiatives to protect 
Woodside’s people and assets in all 
national and international locations 
as we progress to global top-quartile 
performance in 2017. 

CASE STUDY 
Adapting technology to  
eliminate high-risk activities
Planning for the Pluto turnaround in 2015 
identified a large number of pressure 
vessels needing internal inspection 
to ensure that they conformed to 
Woodside’s performance standard and 
complied with State and Commonwealth 
regulations. Fifty vessels were expected 
to require manned confined space 
entries, a recognised high-risk oil and  
gas industry activity.

The use of remote digital video 
inspection (RDVI) alongside  
non-intrusive inspection (NII) techniques 
was recommended to internally inspect 
pressure vessels. RDVI had been 
previously trialled by Woodside for  
one-off inspections.

RDVI uses robotics and cameras  
to deliver clear and concise visual 
inspection data and eliminates the 
need for confined space entry. NII uses 
ultrasonic testing, liquid penetrant and 
radiography techniques conducted 

from outside a vessel without breaking 
containment or requiring vessel entry.

Using RDVI, coupled with NII, during 
a major facility turnaround, was a step 
forward in reducing the number of 
manned entries to check the condition of 
pressure containing equipment, essential 
to maintaining asset integrity and 
minimising process safety risk.

The initiative removed the need for 36 
manned confined space entries, reduced 
inspection activities by four days, cut 
up to ten days from the typical 35-day 
turnaround saving approximately  
A$4.5 million.

This innovative RDVI and NII process to 
internally inspect pressure equipment 
has been integrated into Woodside’s 
engineering standards for future 
inspections of this type.

The initiative was recognised by  
industry through receipt of the 2015 
APPEA Health and Safety Award and 
also of the Delegates’ Choice Award for 
Health and Safety.

33

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWENVIRONMENT
Woodside’s future success depends on our continued capacity to 
demonstrate strong environmental performance across our global portfolio.

2015 Key performance highlights

Our approach

Woodside’s approach to environmental 
management is outlined in our Health, 
Safety, Environment and Quality Policy and 
the mandatory environmental operating 
standards that apply to all facilities and 
operations. We continue to manage 
environment risk and make decisions 
based on robust science delivered in part 
through our partnerships with researchers 
and stakeholders. We remain focused on 
environmental excellence wherever we 
operate, supported by visible leadership in 
environmental management. 

Environmental performance

During 2015, we achieved an 8% reduction 
in flared gas intensity and recorded 
a 2% increase in total greenhouse 
gas emissions. We had no significant 
environmental incidents. 

Environmental excellence 

In 2015, Woodside was awarded the 
Annual APPEA Conference Environment 
Excellence Award for our overall approach 
to environmental management. The 
award demonstrates industry and peer 
recognition of our consistent approach 
to strategic environmental planning, 
leadership and culture, risk management, 
science-based decision making and 
community engagement. Woodside also 
won the annual APPEA Health Safety and 
Environment Conference Environment 
Delegates’ Choice Award, held in Perth for 
our work associated with avoiding marine 
biofouling.

Global biodiversity

Environmental collaboration, partnerships 
and transparency are key to our future 
success. In 2015, we partnered with 
some of the world’s leading environmental 

ƒƒ Reduced flaring intensity by 8% 

attributable to continuous improvement 
initiatives and high reliability in facility 
operation.

ƒƒ Awarded the Australian Petroleum 

Production and Exploration Association 
(APPEA) Environment Excellence Award.

ƒƒ Commenced our largest field-based 
produced water and sedimentation 
study adjacent to three offshore 
facilities.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Deliver global top-quartile environmental 
performance to support our Australian 
and global activities.

ƒƒ Improve energy and flare efficiency to 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ƒƒ Partner with leading international 

environment organisations to improve 
understanding of new environments.

ƒƒ Embrace technology developments and 
increase transparency in scientific data 
collection.

ƒƒ Embed a high-performance 

environmental culture for all employees 
and contractors. 

Flared gas and intensity1  

14.2

10.0

9.2

8.0

7.5

6
4
2

7
1
2

1
2
4

0
5
3

5
1
3

9
7

5
6

9
2
1

3
7
1

7
6
1

11

12

13

14

15

Total gas flared for operated ventures (kilotonnes)

Woodside equity portion of flaring (kilotonnes)

Intensity flared gas 
(tonne/kilotonnes hydrocarbon production)

1. Excludes commissioning.

The intensity of flared gas in 2015 showed 
a decline from the peak in 2013 due to 
improved plant performance.

34

organisations to better understand the 
global environments where we have 
interests. This includes formalising 
relationships with the World Oceans 
Council and Fauna and Flora International. 

During 2015, extensive environment 
studies and approvals were undertaken 
to support our activities in Australia, 
Korea, Myanmar, Canada, Ireland and 
Morocco. This included finalising a study 
to understand the seasonality of cetacean 
visitation to the offshore waters of Ireland 
to assist the Irish Government’s strategic 
environmental assessment of offshore 
waters.

Climate change

We accept the Intergovernmental Panel on 
Climate Change’s assessment of climate 
change science and believe that natural 
gas has a major role to play in containing 
global average temperatures. Achieving 
this requires stable regulatory frameworks 
capable of achieving current and future 
emissions reduction targets.

Outlook

In 2016, we will continue to minimise our 
impacts on land, sea, air and wildlife with 
a focus on improving energy and flare 
efficiency to reduce greenhouse  
gas emissions. 

Woodside will expand our partnerships 
with leading scientific organisations 
to collect robust science to support 
the management of environment risks 
associated with our activities and position 
ourselves as a partner of choice across our 
growing global portfolio.

  Further information on environmental 
management will be available in our 
Sustainable Development Report 2015.

Woodside’s 
Environment 
team accepts 
the 2015 APPEA 
HSE Conference 
Environment 
Delegates’ Choice 
Award.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015OVERVIEW

OPERATING AND 
FINANCIAL REVIEW

GOVERNANCE

FINANCIAL  
REPORT

SHAREHOLDER  
INFORMATION

COMMUNITIES

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Contributed A$13.9 million worth 
of social investment to our host 
communities, equating to 0.5% of a 
three-year averaged profit before tax 
from 2013 to 2015.

ƒƒ Contributed A$2 million towards eight 
early childhood development initiatives 
through the Woodside Development 
Fund, including our first international 
initiative in Myanmar.

ƒƒ Achieved 68 of the 82 measurable goals 
in our 2011–2015 Reconciliation Action 
Plan (RAP), with results exceeding 
expectations for 11 of these. 

ƒƒ Exceeded our RAP target, signing 

163 new contracts with Indigenous 
businesses, against a target of 50.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Continue to engage with a broad range 
of stakeholders to understand their 
interests and concerns.

ƒƒ Implement a 2016 sustainable social 

contribution strategy to support 
business and community outcomes. 

ƒƒ Maintain and report on outcomes 
achieved through the Woodside 
Development Fund.

ƒƒ Implement 2016–2020 RAP to support 
business and Indigenous community 
outcomes.

Early childhood development in Myanmar is the focus of the first international contribution of 
Woodside’s A$20 million Development Fund.

The Woodside Compass values, our Code 
of Conduct and our policies provide the 
framework that supports us in carrying out 
our business activities in a manner that 
respects human rights.

Our philanthropic contribution was 
primarily through the donation of almost 
6,300 hours of our employees’ time to 
corporate volunteering valued at  
A$1.2 million. 

We build long-lasting relationships with 
Indigenous communities in which we are 
active. We demonstrate respect and act 
with integrity as we generate positive 
economic, social and cultural outcomes.

In Australia, we maintain relationships 
with Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara, 
Kimberley and South West regions. 
Our 2016 - 2020 RAP will outline our 
commitment to increasing the participation 
and development of Indigenous 
employees and is supported by our three-
year Indigenous Employment Strategy.

Our social contribution strategy focuses 
on developing capacity and capability in 
local host communities through long-term, 
strategic investment in the communities 
where we operate. Our funding focus 
areas are applied globally, aligning with 
stakeholder interests, and support our 
core business objectives for exploration, 
developments and operations.

Woodside Development Fund

In 2015, we maintained our commitment 
to early childhood development through 
the Woodside Development Fund.  
The fund supported eight major initiatives, 
including two place-based collaborative 
initiatives. Over 50 Western Australian 
communities will benefit from our 
investment and a further 14 Australia-wide 
communities will benefit from leveraged 
funding.

We also made our first international 
contribution through the fund.  
In collaboration with Save the Children,  
Plan International and Pann Pyo Lett 
through the Myanmar Education 
Consortium, the fund is supporting the 
delivery of parenting and early childhood 
education programs for around  
700 children aged zero to eight years  
in ten villages in the Ayerwaddy Region  
in south-west Myanmar. 

Outlook

In 2016, we will implement our 
revised RAP and our sustainable social 
contribution strategy which reflect and 
align with business activities, impacts and 
stakeholder interests and concerns.

  Further information is available in Woodside’s 
Sustainable Development Report 2015.

35

Our approach 

Our performance

For us, working sustainably is about doing 
what’s right, so that we can perform to 
our very best. It is a core value embedded 
at every level of our company, across our 
value chain and wherever we work. 

Our ability to respond to the issues and 
concerns of the communities where we 
operate is important. For us this means 
doing the right thing by our people, 
partners and broader society and keeping 
them safe and healthy.

As a member of the London Benchmarking 
Group, we use its methodology to track, 
measure, benchmark and report on our 
social contribution performance.

In 2015, we contributed A$13.9 million 
through voluntary social contribution 
towards a combination of strategic 
partnerships (74%), the Woodside 
Development Fund (14%) and philanthropic 
activities (12%).

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWTECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Innovation and our ability to apply leading-edge science and technology in  
our operations are important differentiators. By innovating, we have 
maintained our position as a leader in the Australian oil and gas industry. 

2015 Key performance highlights

Future objectives

Our approach

ƒƒ Established a dedicated science team 

ƒƒ Continue to build capability in data 

focusing on data science.

ƒƒ Introduced a cognitive computing 

system.

ƒƒ Built a predictive analytics platform for 

maintenance and process control.

ƒƒ Qualified the Near Shore LNG concept 
and low-cost drilling techniques, ready 
for deployment in our business.

ƒƒ Deployed 3D Full Waveform Inversion 
on two data sets from exploration 
seismic surveys.

ƒƒ Launched Woodside FutureLab to help 

drive collaborative innovation.

36

science including internal talent, a data 
science platform and relevant external 
partnerships.

ƒƒ Deploy data science technologies  
in production facilities and extend  
its application to other areas of our  
value chain.

Woodside’s commitment to innovation 
aligns with our core values of excellence 
and working sustainably, and our goal of 
achieving world-class reliability and safety 
of our producing assets.

Our technology strategy is focused on 
competitive advantage through innovative 
solutions to business problems.

ƒƒ Enhance competitiveness through 

innovation, enabling resource 
development, reducing unit technical 
costs and development duration and 
increasing production.

In exploration, we are focused on 
progressing seismic and drilling technology 
solutions to reduce costs and improve the 
timeliness and accuracy of subsurface 
modelling.

ƒƒ Consider technologies that could disrupt 
Woodside’s value chain and how they 
might be leveraged for advantage.

In the second half of 2015, we deployed 
the 3D version of Full Waveform Inversion 
(FWI). This technology was successfully 
used in Myanmar 3D seismic surveys, 
both for shallow hazards analysis and 
for pore pressure prediction. 3D FWI 
has the potential to reduce cycle time 
from acquisition to drilling, creating value 
through reduced costs and improved 
efficiencies. We’ll continue to refine and 
evolve this technology to seek greater 
efficiencies in 2016.

By focusing on scope elimination, we 
continue to find opportunities to reduce 
upstream capital and operation costs 
for drilling developments and projects.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Subsea technologies reduce the 
requirement for large infrastructure such as 
manned offshore platforms, allowing us to 
safely and economically develop fields in 
remote, deep water locations. Throughout 
2015, we matured work on electrical 
subsea systems and subsea processing 
options for long subsea tiebacks to remote 
facilities. 

We continued leveraging more than  
30 years of development and operational 
experience, to progress the development 
of innovative onshore and near shore  
LNG design solutions to lower the cost  
of LNG supply.

In 2015, we established a science team 
dedicated to pursuing opportunities in the 
emerging field of data science.

We are using advanced analytics in our 
Pluto LNG Plant with the aim of enhancing 
plant reliability through process and 
maintenance control. Big data, streaming 
from over 200,000 sensors on the plant, 
is being interpreted through advanced 
statistical analysis to assist in proactive 
planning and predictive process control. 
These production enhancement initiatives 
are designed to increase the value of our 
base business by enhancing the availability 
and productivity of our assets.

In June, we deployed a cognitive 
computing system into our business 
focusing on capturing the vast proprietary 
database of knowledge on Woodside’s 
major capital projects. 

By making this information easily 
accessible to our people through this 
system, there is potential to enhance 
decision making across the project  
life cycle and improve productivity.  
In 2016, we will extend this technology to 
our Exploration and Marketing divisions.

Woodside FutureLab

FutureLab is actively building an 
ecosystem of scientific and technological 
innovation through collaborations 
with research institutions, start-ups, 
entrepreneurs and adjacent leading 
industries.

FutureLab is designed to deliver 
collaborative innovation through key 
partnerships initially under three broad 
themes: ocean engineering, Plant of the 
Future and enterprise analytics. 

In 2015, we launched programs to 
collectively share challenges and develop 
innovative solutions within the enterprise 
analytics work stream, including the Cisco 
Internet of Everything Innovation Centre 
(CIIC) at Curtin University.

In 2016, we will launch innovation centres 
with the University of Western Australia 
and Monash University focused on our 
ocean engineering and Plant of the Future 
work streams respectively. 

FutureLab is an integral part of our journey, 
encouraging a collaborative approach 
to innovation and providing access to 
capability that will enhance the results of 
our innovation program. 

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Outlook

In 2016, our technology and innovation 
program will continue to focus on reducing 
our cost of supply. We will leverage our 
work on reducing exploration drilling costs 
into development drilling. Our work on long 
subsea tiebacks to remote facilities will be 
matured and we will continue to consider 
novel approaches to reducing the capital 
costs of our LNG facilities.

We will continue to develop predictive 
analytics tools and cognitive systems 
to capture the knowledge of the 
organisation and use this knowledge for 
better and more timely decisions. We 
will continue to invest in the capability of 
our people to innovate and collaborate 
with established technology providers on 
early adoption and practical application.

The CIIC is an 
innovative space to 
collaborate and to 
connect leading talent 
under the FutureLab 
enterprise analytics 
work stream.

37

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWRESERVES AND RESOURCE STATEMENT 

ƒƒ Increased Developed reserves by 

Net acquisitions and divestments

Reserves at 31 December 2014
Revision of previous estimates19

Transfer to/from reserves
Extensions and discoveries20

Acquisitions and divestments

ƒƒ Discovered 68 MMboe of net Contingent 

Annual production

Developed and 
Undeveloped reserves 
additions of 193.9 MMboe 
(Proved) and 264.8 MMboe 
(Proved and Probable), 
replacing more than 200% 
of production for 2015.

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Acquired 193.7 MMboe of Proved 

Developed and Undeveloped reserves, 
increasing resource base by 10% post 
2015 annual production.

ƒƒ Extended Proved and Probable (2P) 

Developed and Undeveloped reserves 
life to 16 years.

19.1MMboe (Proved) and 25.3 MMboe 
(Proved plus Probable) with the start-up 
of the Goodwyn (GHA/B) and Vincent 
Phase IV projects.

ƒƒ Increased our best estimate Contingent 
resource by 152%, primarily driven by 
the 15 Tcf acquisition of unconventional 
gas resources in the Liard and Horn 
River Basins within Canada. 

resources for Pluto with the Pyxis-1 
exploration well.

Proved reserves*

d
e
p
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r
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9
2
,
1

8
4
2

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3
2
,
1

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3
5

3
4
1
,
1

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5
6

8
4
0
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1

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6
5

0
5
1
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1

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0
5

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e
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r
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e
D

)
e
o
b
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M

(

Proved Developed and Undeveloped reserves 
increased by 101.9 MMboe due to acquisitions 
and positive annual reserves revisions offsetting 
production and volumes transferred from reserves.

Proved plus Probable reserves*

l

d
e
p
o
e
v
e
d
n
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a
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r

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1
6
,
1

5
2
3

4
4
5
,
1

6
5
7

7
3
4
,
1

2
5
8

9
3
3
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1

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6
7

8
0
5
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8
6

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11

12

14

15

13
Proved plus Probable Developed and 
Undeveloped reserves increased by  
169.5 MMboe due to acquisitions and positive 
annual reserves revisions offsetting production 
and volumes transferred from reserves.

38

Woodside’s reserves1,2,3,4 and contingent resources5 overview*

Dry gas6
Bcf8

Condensate7
MMbbl9

Oil
MMbbl

Proved11 Developed12 and Undeveloped13

Proved Developed

Proved Undeveloped
Proved plus Probable14 Developed and Undeveloped
Proved plus Probable Developed

Proved plus Probable Undeveloped

Contingent resources

Key metrics

5,827.9
2,517.6

3,310.3
7,591.1
3,349.8

4,241.3

23,106.2

2015 reserves replacement ratio15
Organic 2015 reserves replacement ratio16

Three-year reserves replacement ratio

Organic three-year reserves replacement ratio
Reserves life17
Annual production18

Total
MMboe10

1,150.1
506.0

644.1
1,508.0
683.9

824.1

22.4
22.4

0.0
42.6
42.6

0.0

106.5

4,398.1

Proved

206

4

72

5

12

Proved plus 
Probable
276

1

88

(4)

16

96.1

193.9

96.1

264.8

105.3
41.9

63.4
133.5
53.6

79.9

237.8

%

%

%

%

Years

MMboe

MMboe

Proved (1P) Developed and Undeveloped reserves annual reconciliation  
by product*

Dry gas
Bcf
5,263.3

Condensate
MMbbl
94.9

Oil
MMbbl
30.0

Total
MMboe
1,048.3

5.7

(0.1)

0.0

990.9

432.0

1.0

0.0

0.0

17.4

8.0

3.7

(1.6)

0.0

2.6

12.4

22.4

5.7

(1.6)

0.0

193.9

96.1

1,150.1

Reserves at 31 December 2015

5,827.9

105.3

Proved plus Probable (2P) Developed and Undeveloped reserves annual 
reconciliation by product*

Reserves at 31 December 2014

Revision of previous estimates

Transfer to/from reserves

Extensions and discoveries

Acquisitions and divestments

Annual production

Reserves at 31 December 2015

Dry gas
Bcf
6,653.6

Condensate
MMbbl
117.1

Oil
MMbbl
54.1

Total
MMboe
1,338.5

14.3

(0.1)

0.0

1,355.9

432.0

7,591.7

0.9

0.0

0.0

23.5

8.0

133.5

(0.3)

(2.2)

0.0

3.4

12.4

42.5

3.1

(2.2)

0.0

264.8

96.1

1,508.0

Contingent resources at 31 December 2014

Transfer to/from reserves

Revision of previous estimates

Extensions and discoveries

Acquisitions and divestments

Contingent resources at 31 December 2015

Dry gas
Bcf
7,766.9

Condensate
MMbbl
235.6

0.1

32.1

366.1

14,941.0

23,106.2

0.0

0.6

3.5

(1.9)

237.8

Oil
MMbbl
144.6

2.2

(40.4)

0.0

0.1

Total
MMboe
1,742.9

2.2

(34.2)

67.7

2,619.5

106.5

4,398.1

Proved (1P) Developed and Undeveloped reserves summary by region*
Total
MMboe
573.0

Condensate
MMbbl
46.4

Dry gas
Bcf
3,001.4

Oil
MMbbl
0.0

Region

Greater Pluto21
North West Shelf22
Greater Exmouth23
Other Australia24
Wheatstone25
Canada26

1,836.8

0.0

0.0

968.0

21.7

41.5

0.0

0.0

17.4

0.0

10.1

11.9

0.5

0.0

0.0

373.8

11.9

0.5

187.2

3.8

Reserves

5,827.9

105.3

22.4

1,150.1

*Small differences are due to rounding. 

  Refer to page 40 for notes to the reserves and resource statement.

11

12

13

14 15

Best estimate Contingent resources (2C) annual reconciliation by product*

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Proved (1P) Developed reserves summary by region*

Region

Greater Pluto27
North West Shelf
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Reserves

Dry gas
Bcf
1,186.3
1,309.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
21.7
2,517.6

Condensate
MMbbl
15.8
26.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
41.9

Region

Proved (1P) Undeveloped reserves summary by region*
Condensate
MMbbl
30.6
15.3
0.0
0.0
17.4
0.0
63.4

Greater Pluto
North West Shelf
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Reserves

Dry gas
Bcf
1,815.1
527.2
0.0
0.0
968.0
0.0
3,310.3

Oil
MMbbl
0.0
10.1
11.9
0.5
0.0
0.0
22.4

Oil
MMbbl
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Proved plus Probable (2P) Developed and Undeveloped reserves  
summary by region*

Region

Greater Pluto
North West Shelf
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Reserves

Dry gas
Bcf
4,216.4
2,020.7
0.0
0.0
1,309.1
45.5
7,591.7

Condensate
MMbbl
63.0
47.0
0.0
0.0
23.5
0.0
133.5

Oil
MMbbl
0.0
14.9
27.2
0.5
0.0
0.0
42.6

Proved plus Probable (2P) Developed reserves summary by region*

Region

Greater Pluto
North West Shelf
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Reserves

Dry gas
Bcf
1,893.0
1,411.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
45.6
3,349.8

Condensate
MMbbl
24.9
28.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
53.6

Oil
MMbbl
0.0
14.9
27.2
0.5
0.0
0.0
42.6

Total
MMboe
223.9
266.0
11.9
0.5
0.0
3.8
506.0

Total
MMboe
349.1
107.8
0.0
0.0
187.2
0.0
644.1

Total
MMboe
802.7
416.4
27.2
0.5
253.2
8.0
1,508.0

Total
MMboe
357.0
291.2
27.2
0.5
0.0
8.0
683.9

Proved plus Probable (2P) Undeveloped reserves summary by region*

Region

Greater Pluto
North West Shelf
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Reserves

Dry gas
Bcf
2,323.4
609.5
0.0
0.0
1,309.1
0.0
4,242.0

Condensate
MMbbl
38.2
18.3
0.0
0.0
23.5
0.0
79.9

Oil
MMbbl
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Region

Best estimate Contingent resources (2C) summary by region*
Oil
MMbbl
0.0
0.0
0.0
79.9
15.1
11.5
0.0
0.0
106.5

Greater Browse28
Greater Sunrise29
Greater Pluto
Greater Exmouth
North West Shelf
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada
Total

Condensate
MMbbl
142.6
75.6
11.9
2.1
4.9
0.5
0.3
0.0
237.8

Dry gas
Bcf
4,881.0
1,716.8
949.2
307.4
168.8
65.5
17.5
15,000.0
23,106.2

Total
MMboe
445.8
125.2
0.0
0.0
253.2
0.0
824.1

Total
MMboe
998.9
376.7
178.5
135.8
49.6
23.5
3.4
2,631.6
4,398.1

*Small differences are due to rounding. 

  Refer to page 40 for notes to the reserves and resource statement.

RESERVES AND RESOURCES STATEMENT

Proved plus Probable reserves 
(Developed and Undeveloped)

1,508
MMboe

12.7%

Developed
Greater Pluto Undeveloped
NWS Undeveloped
Wheatstone Undeveloped
Other Undeveloped

%
45
30
8
17
0

At year end of 2015, 45% of the Proved 
plus Probable reserves were categorised 
as Developed, down from 57% in 2014.

1P Reserves by region 
(Developed and Undeveloped)

1,150.1
MMboe

9.7%

Greater Pluto
NWS
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada

%
50
33
1
<1
16
<1

2P Reserves by region 
(Developed and Undeveloped)

1,508
MMboe

12.7%

Greater Pluto
NWS
Greater Exmouth
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada

%
53
28
2
0
17
<1

2C Contingent resource  
by region

4,398.1
MMboe

152%

Greater Browse
Greater Sunrise
Greater Pluto
Greater Exmouth
NWS
Other Australia
Wheatstone
Canada

%
23
9
4
3
1
<1
0
60

39

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGovernance and assurance

Woodside, as an Australian company listed on the Australian 
Securities Exchange, reports its petroleum resource estimates 
using definitions and guidelines consistent with the 2007 Society 
of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)/World Petroleum Council (WPC)/
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)/Society 
of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers (SPEE) Petroleum Resources 
Management System (PRMS).

Woodside has several processes to provide assurance for 
reserves reporting, including the Woodside Reserves Policy, the 
Petroleum Resources Management Operating Standard, staff 
training and minimum competency levels and external reserves 
audits. On average, more than 99% of Woodside’s Proved 
Reserves have been externally verified by independent review 
over the past four years.

Unless otherwise stated, all petroleum resource estimates are 
quoted as net Woodside share at standard oilfield conditions of 
14.696 pounds per square inch (psi) (101.325 (kPa)) and  
60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.56 degrees Celsius). 

Qualified petroleum reserves and resources evaluator 
statement

The Reserves and Resources Statement is based on and fairly 
represents information and supporting documentation prepared 
by qualified petroleum reserves and resources evaluators. The 
Reserves and Resources Statement  has been approved by 
Mr Ian F Sylvester, Woodside’s Vice President of Reservoir 
Management, who is a full-time employee of the company  
and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.  
Mr Sylvester’s qualifications include a Master of Engineering 
(Petroleum Engineering) from Imperial College, University of 
London, England, and more than 20 years of relevant experience. 
Mr Sylvester has consented in writing to the inclusion of this 
information in this report.

Notes to the reserves and resource statement

‘Condensate’ is defined as ‘C5 plus’ petroleum components.

19 

‘Revision of previous estimates’ are changes in previous 
estimates of reserves or contingent resources, either up or 
down, resulting from new information normally obtained from 
development drilling and production history or resulting from 
a change in economic factors.

‘Extensions and discoveries’ represent additions to reserves 
or contingent resources that result from increased areal 
extensions of previously discovered fields, discovery of 
reserves in new fields or new reservoirs in old fields.

The ‘Greater Pluto’ region comprises the Pluto-Xena, Larsen, 
Martell, Martin, Noblige, Remy, Alaric and Cadwallon fields. 

The ‘North West Shelf’ (NWS) includes all oil and gas fields 
within the North West Shelf Project Area. As the NWS 
consists of a portfolio of fields, probabilistic aggregation is 
more appropriate than arithmetic summation as inter-field 
dependencies reflecting different reservoir characteristics 
between fields are incorporated. Probabilistic aggregation 
of individual fields in the NWS accounts for 14.3% of NWS 
Proved (Developed and Undeveloped) dry gas reserves, 
18.6% of NWS Proved (Developed and Undeveloped) 
condensate reserves.

The ‘Greater Exmouth’ region comprises Vincent, Enfield, 
Stybarrow-Eskdale, Greater Laverda, Cimatti, Ragnar and 
Toro fields.

‘Other Australia’ comprises the Laminaria-Corallina and 
Argus fields. 

‘Wheatstone’ comprises the Julimar and Brunello fields.

‘Canada’ comprises unconventional resources in the Liard 
and Horn River Basins.

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27  Material concentrations of reserves in the Greater Pluto and 

North West Shelf regions have remained undeveloped for 
longer than 5 years from the date they were initially reported 
as the incremental reserves are expected to be recovered 
through future developments to meet long-term contractual 
commitments. The incremental projects are included in the 
company business plan, demonstrating the intent to proceed 
with the developments.

28 

‘Greater Browse’ comprises the Brecknock, Calliance 
and Torosa fields. For the Browse FLNG development, the 
reference point is defined as the outlet of the FLNG facility, 
which means Contingent resources are reported excluding 
the fuel and flare required for production and processing up to 
the reference point.

29 

‘Greater Sunrise’ comprises the Sunrise and Troubadour 
fields.

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

1 

2 

‘Reserves’ are estimated quantities of petroleum that 
have been demonstrated to be producible from known 
accumulations in which the company has an interest from 
a given date forward, at commercial rates, under presently 
anticipated production methods, operating conditions, prices 
and costs. 

Assessment of the economic value of a project, in support of 
a reserves classification, uses Woodside Portfolio Economic 
Assumptions (PEAs). The PEAs are reviewed on an annual 
basis or more often if required. The review is based on 
historical data and forecast estimates for economic variables 
such as product prices and exchange rates. The PEAs are 
approved by the Woodside Board. Specific contractual 
arrangements for individual projects are also taken into 
account.

3  Woodside uses both deterministic and probabilistic methods 
for estimation of petroleum resources at the field and project 
levels. Unless otherwise stated, all petroleum estimates 
reported at the company or region level are aggregated by 
arithmetic summation by category. Note that the aggregated 
Proved level may be a very conservative estimate due to the 
portfolio effects of arithmetic summation.

4  Woodside reports reserves net of the fuel and flare required 
for production, processing and transportation up to a 
reference point. For offshore oil projects, the reference point 
is defined at the outlet of the FPSO. For onshore LNG projects, 
the reference point is defined as the inlet to the downstream 
(onshore) processing facility. Downstream fuel and flare 
represents 11.9% of Woodside’s Proved (Developed and 
Undeveloped) reserves, and 11.8% of Proved plus Probable 
(Developed and Undeveloped) reserves.

 ‘Contingent resources’ are those quantities of petroleum 
estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable 
from known accumulations, but the applied project(s) are not 
yet considered mature enough for commercial development 
due to one or more contingencies. Contingent resources may 
include, for example, projects for which there are currently no 
viable markets, or where commercial recovery is dependent 
on technology under development, or where evaluation of the 
accumulation is insufficient to clearly assess commerciality. 
Woodside reports Contingent resources net of the fuel and 
flare required for production, processing and transportation 
up to a reference point and non-hydrocarbons not present 
in sales products. Contingent resources estimates may not 
always mature to reserves and do not necessarily represent 
future reserves classifications. All Contingent resource 
volumes are reported at the ‘Best Estimate’ (P50) confidence 
level.

’Dry gas’ is defined as ‘C4 minus’ petroleum components 
including non-hydrocarbons. These volumes include LPG 
(propane and butane) resources. Dry gas reserves and 
contingent resources include ‘C4 minus’ hydrocarbon 
components and non-hydrocarbon volumes that are present 
in sales product. 

5 

6 

40

‘Bcf’ means Billions (109) of cubic feet of gas at standard 
oilfield conditions of 14.696 psi (101.325 kPa) and 60 degrees 
Fahrenheit (15.56 degrees Celsius).

‘MMbbl’ means millions (106) of barrels of oil and condensate 
at standard oilfield conditions of 14.696 psi (101.325 kPa) and 
60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.56 degrees Celsius).

‘MMboe’ means millions (106) of barrels of oil equivalent. 
Consistent with international practice, dry gas volumes are 
converted to oil equivalent volumes via a constant conversion 
factor, which for Woodside is 5.7 Bcf of dry gas per 1 MMboe. 
Volumes of oil and condensate are converted from MMbbl to 
MMboe on a 1:1 ratio.

‘Proved reserves’ are those reserves which analysis of 
geological and engineering data suggests, to a high degree 
of certainty (90% confidence), are recoverable. There is 
relatively little risk associated with these reserves.

‘Developed reserves’ are those reserves that are producible 
through currently existing completions and installed facilities 
for treatment, compression, transportation and delivery, 
using existing operating methods and standards.

‘Undeveloped reserves’ are those reserves for which wells 
and facilities have not been installed or executed but are 
expected to be recovered through future investments.

‘Probable reserves’ are those reserves which analysis of 
geological and engineering data suggests are more likely 
than not to be recoverable. There is at least a 50% probability 
that the quantities actually recovered will exceed the sum of 
estimated Proved plus Probable reserves.

The ‘reserves replacement ratio’ is the reserves (Developed 
and Undeveloped) change during the year, before the 
deduction of production, divided by production during the 
year. The ‘three-year reserves replacement ratio’ is the 
reserves (developed and undeveloped) change over three 
years, before the deduction of production for that period, 
divided by production during the same period. 

The ‘organic annual reserves replacement ratio’ is the 
reserves (Developed and Undeveloped) change during the 
year, before the deduction of production and adjustment for 
acquisition and divestments, divided by production during the 
year.

The ‘reserves’ life is the reserves (Developed and 
Undeveloped) divided by production during the year.

‘Annual production’ is the volume of dry gas, condensate 
and oil produced during the year and converted to ’MMboe’ 
for the specific purpose of reserves reconciliation and the 
calculation of reserves replacement ratios. The ‘Reserves 
and Resources Statement’ annual production differs from 
production volumes reported in the company's annual and 
quarterly reports due to differences between sales and 
reserves product definitions, reserves reported gross of 
downstream fuel and flare and the ‘MMboe’ conversion 
factors applied.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015OVERVIEW

OPERATING AND 
FINANCIAL REVIEW

GOVERNANCE

FINANCIAL  
REPORT

SHAREHOLDER  
INFORMATION

GROWTH

We maintained focus on organic and inorganic growth opportunities, 
executing high-impact exploration activities and progressing significant 
developments and new business opportunities.

We maintain a disciplined approach to investment decisions  
with a mindset that oil prices could remain lower for longer.

GROWTH

ORGANIC1

INORGANIC2

GLOBAL 
EXPLORATION

DEVELOPMENT

BUSINESS 
DEVELOPMENT 
OPPORTUNITIES

Block A-6

Gas discovery in the 
Shwe Yee Htun-1 well

The discovery of gas and 
reservoir quality rock 
substantially de-risks 
the petroleum system, 
currently identified leads 
in the block and our 
adjacent acreage.

Appraise

FEED

Kitimat LNG

Greater Enfield

MoU

Sempra LNG

The Kitimat LNG Project 
offers a ground-floor 
entry position in one of 
the most advanced LNG 
opportunities in Western 
Canada.

The Greater Enfield Joint 
Venture participants 
approved entry into the  
front-end engineering 
and design (FEED) phase. 

Woodside entered 
into a non-binding 
Memorandum of 
Understanding (MoU) 
with Sempra LNG for a 
potential development. 

 Read more on page 42.

 Read more on page 47.

 Read more on page 45.

 Read more on page 47.

1. Growth through exploration and development of existing assets held by Woodside.
2. Growth through the acquisition of assets.

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW

41

GLOBAL EXPLORATION
Exploration is focused on building a material balanced global portfolio to 
provide future growth opportunities for the business.

2015 Key performance highlights
ƒƒ Discovered gas at Pyxis-1, offshore 
Western Australia, resulting in the 
addition of 68 MMboe of net Contingent 
resources (2C) for Pluto.

ƒƒ Discovered gas at the Shwe Yee 

Htun-1 exploration well in Block A-6 
in the Rakhine Basin, located offshore 
Myanmar. The discovery of gas and 
reservoir quality rock substantially  
de-risks the petroleum system, currently 
identified leads in the block and our 
adjacent acreage.

ƒƒ Drilled a further four wells worldwide, 

with the Hongge-1 well in the Republic 
of Korea confirming the presence 
of a petroleum system, but a non-
commercial discovery. 

in April 2015 and at Shwe Yee Htun-1, in 
Block A-6 in Myanmar’s Rakhine Basin, 
in December 2015. Sub-commercial 
hydrocarbons were encountered in 
exploration wells drilled in the Republic 
of Korea (Hongge-1) and Cameroon 
(Cheetah-1). The results will be integrated 
into further reviews of permit prospectivity.

We maintained a disciplined approach 
to new growth opportunities and to the 
management of our existing portfolio by 
applying rigorous financial and technical 
criteria. In line with this approach, in early 
2015, Woodside elected not to enter 
the First Extension Period for the Lake 
Tanganyika  South Production Sharing 
Contract (PSC) in Tanzania, meaning this 
opportunity was not pursued. 

ƒƒ Acquired 2,200 km2 of new marine 

3D seismic data in New Zealand and 
commenced 3D seismic data acquisition 
in Myanmar.

We continued to enhance our global 
exploration culture, capabilities and 
technical excellence, further increasing  
our international presence and profile. 

ƒƒ Achieved a significant efficiency gain in 
Myanmar through the deployment of a 
record number (18) of streamers on the 
PGS vessel Ramform Titan.

ƒƒ Acquired almost 1,630 line km of new 
2D data in Morocco, Peru and Tanzania.

Future objectives
ƒƒ Drill up to three wells in 2016 (Thalin-1 in 
Myanmar, Skippy Rock-1 and Stokes in 
Australia) and commence preparations 
for drilling up to six wells in 2017.
ƒƒ Conduct 3D and 2D marine seismic 
surveys in Myanmar and 3D marine 
seismic surveys in Ireland and Gabon. 
ƒƒ Continue to pursue opportunities in our 
focus areas that leverage our deepwater 
skills and technology capabilities. 
ƒƒ Continue our disciplined, technical 

approach to growing our portfolio, in line 
with our global exploration strategy.
ƒƒ Minimise the costs of our exploration 
activities by taking advantage of the 
lower oil price environment.

Exploration strategy in 2015 
During 2015, we focused on maturing 
our international captured acreage and 
aggregating our positions across our three 
focus areas: Australia and the Asia-Pacific, 
the Atlantic Margins and Sub-Saharan 
Africa. Our efforts built on the significant 
progress we made in 2013 and 2014 in 
rebalancing our global exploration portfolio, 
in terms of basin maturity, geographic 
focus and mix of oil and gas and leveraging 
our deepwater and technology capabilities. 

We carried out exploration activities across 
our portfolio, making gas discoveries at 
Pyxis-1, in the Pluto Production Licence, 

42

We maintained a focus on delivering future 
value creation for the business through 
our strategy of building a material quality 
portfolio and execution of exploration 
activities. 

The lower oil price environment also saw 
us achieve significant cost savings and 
efficiencies in our exploration activities, 
including through reduced rates in 
contracts for seismic vessels.

Australia
During 2015, we drilled three wells 
offshore north-western Australia:
ƒƒ Pyxis-1 in the Pluto Production Licence 
WA-34-L resulted in a gas discovery 
and the addition of 68 MMboe of net 
Contingent resources (2C); 

ƒƒ Anhalt-1 in the Outer Canning basin 

permit WA-462-P resulted in a dry hole; 
and 

ƒƒ Malaguti-1 in the Exmouth Sub-basin 

permit WA-271-P resulted in a dry hole. 

Preliminary data from the 4,058 km2 North 
West Shelf Fortuna 3D marine seismic 
survey was processed and interpretation 
commenced. A number of new leads were 
identified, and the existing portfolio was 
screened based on these data. Final data 
from the Fortuna survey was delivered 
in January 2016 and interpretation is 
underway to deliver drill candidates for 
2017 drilling.

Portfolio management remained a key 
focus in 2015, reflecting Woodside’s 
disciplined approach. As a consequence 
of our evaluation of low-remaining 
prospectivity following seismic or drilling 
activity, eight Australian exploration 

permits were relinquished during the year. 
A farm-out of our participating interest 
from 100% to 60% was completed 
for permit WA-483-P in the Northern 
Carnarvon Basin, in order to preserve an 
appropriate risk to equity balance.

Woodside retains an interest in  
24 Australian exploration permits,  
providing rights to explore 70,000 km2  
of the North West Shelf. 

Planning continues for the drilling of Skippy 
Rock -1 and side track (Skippy Rock – 
1ST1, also known as ‘Stokes Prospect’) 
in 2016 in permit WA-472-P in the Beagle 
Sub-basin. This well will test a new play 
concept with an oil focus.

Cameroon
Woodside 30% (non-operator)

The Cheetah-1 exploration well drilled 
in Q2 and Q3 2015 discovered sub-
commercial hydrocarbons. The joint 
venture continues to integrate the 
Cheetah-1 results into a review of the 
prospectivity of the permit.

Canada (Nova Scotia)
Woodside 20% (non-operator)

Processing by the operator of the Tangiers 
3D marine seismic survey is ongoing. 
Numerous leads have been identified by 
the operator in the preliminary seismic 
data set. Subsequent to year end, the first 
of the final products from the processing 
were delivered in January 2016.

Gabon
Woodside 40% (non-operator)

The operator commenced planning for 
a 2,500 km2 3D seismic survey that is 
expected to start in Q1 2016.

Ireland
FEL 5/13 Woodside 90% (operator) 
FEL 3/14 Woodside 85% (operator) 
FEL 4/14 Woodside 85% (operator) 
FEL 5/14 Woodside 60% (operator) 

All existing 3D seismic surveys within 
our licence areas in the Porcupine Basin 
were reprocessed to improve data quality 
and mature drilling candidates. A new 3D 
seismic survey is planned for mid-2016 to 
mature the 2D lead portfolio.

Several environmental studies were 
completed, including a scientific survey of 
cetacean behaviour in the Porcupine Basin 
that provided new insights into whale 
behaviour. Results will be used to manage 
any future operations in the area.

BANGLADESH

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Morocco 
Rabat Ultra Deep Offshore Reconnaissance 
Licence Woodside 75% (operator) 
Rabat Deep Offshore blocks I-VI Woodside 
25% (non-operator) 

In the Rabat Ultra Deep Offshore 
Reconnaissance Licence, Woodside 
acquired 1,074 km of 2D seismic data. 
Subsequent to year end, processing of  
the data was completed in January 2016. 

Ministerial approval for entering the First 
Renewal Period of the Reconnaissance 
Licence was provided on 30 December 
2015, with the licence now expiring  
14 December 2016.

In the Rabat Deep Offshore blocks I-VI, 
the operator is continuing geological and 
geophysical studies following a successful 
multi-beam sonar and geochemical coring 
program.

Myanmar 
A-6 Woodside 40% (joint operator) 
AD-7 Woodside 40% (operator for drilling) 
A-7 Woodside 45% (operator) 
AD-5 Woodside 55% (operator) 
A-4 Woodside 45% (non-operator) 
AD-2 Woodside 45% (non-operator)

Gas was discovered at the Shwe Yee 
Htun-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the 
Rakhine Basin, located offshore Myanmar. 
The discovery of gas and reservoir quality 
rock substantially de-risks currently 
identified leads in the block.

On 4 January 2016, Woodside announced 
that approximately 15 m of net gas 
pay was interpreted within the primary 
target interval. The net gas pay figure 
increased to approximately 32 m following 
completion of nuclear magnetic resonance 
and resistivity image logging, formation 
fluid sampling and pressure testing. 

GROWTH – GLOBAL EXPLORATION

Reservoir studies will be undertaken to 
evaluate the contingent resource volume 
during 2016.

the permits will support the maturation of 
existing leads towards a final prospectivity 
assessment by the end of 2016.

The Thalin-1 well in Block AD-7 
commenced drilling activities in  
January 2016. 

Extensive 2D and 3D seismic surveys 
(including gravity and magnetic data 
recording) over Blocks A-4, A-7, AD-2 
and AD-5 commenced in late 2015 and 
will continue into Q2 2016. Programs of 
extensive seabed coring in Blocks A-4, 
A-7, AD-2 and AD-5 are also planned to 
commence in 2016.

Since the seismic acquisition commenced, 
seismic operator PGS’ vessel Ramform 
Titan has achieved a world record 
for number of streamers towed (18). 
Acquisition rates have been up to 160 km2 
per day. 

The AD-7 PSC was amended to provide  
for the expansion of Block AD-7, adding 
1,100 km2 (70%) to the Block’s area.  
A 1,200 km2 3D survey will be acquired, 
mainly in the expansion area, in early 2016.

New Zealand
Woodside 70% (operator)

During the first half of the year, Woodside 
and joint venture participant New Zealand 
Oil & Gas Limited completed the  
1,170 km2 Toroa 3D marine seismic 
survey in the Great South Basin (permit 
PEP55974) and the 1,086 km2 Vulcan 
3D marine seismic survey in the Taranaki 
Basin (permit PEP55793).

Interpretation of the preliminary seismic 
dataset occurred during 2H 2015. 
Processing of the data is underway and 
final products will be available in Q2 
2016. Interpretation of the final data in 

Peru
Woodside 35% (non-operator)

In Block 108, the operator acquired and 
processed 527 km of new 2D seismic 
data. Surface geology was mapped in 
detail along each line, and gravity and 
magnetic profiles were recorded. Initial 
interpretation of the new data indicates 
that leads and prospects can be matured 
to drilling candidates. Environmental 
approvals have been secured for a number 
of potential drilling locations, with up to 
two wells planned for 2017.

Republic of Korea
Woodside 50% (operator exploration)

In the Ulleung Basin Block 8/6-1N, the 
Hongge-1 exploration well reached a 
total depth of 3,900 m below the rotary 
table. Drilling confirmed the presence 
of a petroleum system with a significant 
gas column within the primary target. 
However, a high percentage of inert gas in 
the hydrocarbon column has resulted in a 
non-commercial discovery. Woodside will 
continue to work closely with the Korea 
National Oil Corporation to analyse the well 
result and integrate with planned regional 
studies. 

Spain (Canary Islands)  
Woodside 30% (non-operator)

Woodside continues to work with the joint 
venture to determine the next steps in the 
Canarias Permits 1-9.

Gas was discovered at the Shwe Yee Htun-1 exploration well in Block A-6 in the Rakhine Basin, located offshore Myanmar.

BANGLADESH

INDIA

CHINA

AD-7

LAOS

MYANMAR

AD-2

A-4

A-6

Shwe Yee Htun-1

AD-5

A-7

THAILAND

0

100

200

kilometres

VIETNAM

LEGEND

Gas

Oil

Woodside titles

Gas

Oil

43

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWDEVELOPMENT
Wheatstone
Woodside 13% (non-operator)
Woodside brings more than 30 years of project development and operational 
experience to the world-class Wheatstone Project as a joint venture participant.

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Established an integrated Julimar Project 

delivery team.

ƒƒ Continued installation of the Julimar and 

Brunello subsea infrastructure.

ƒƒ Progressed key milestone activities for 

the Wheatstone Project.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Achieve ready for start-up for the  

Julimar Project in 2H 2016.

ƒƒ Achieve first LNG by mid-2017.

Development update

Woodside has interests in the  
Wheatstone Project and the Julimar 
Project (refer to Diagram A).

Woodside’s 13% non-operated interest 
in the Wheatstone Project includes the 
offshore platform, the pipeline to shore and 
the onshore plant located near Onslow, 
in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, but 
excludes the Wheatstone and Iago fields 
and subsea infrastructure. 

The onshore plant includes a two-train  
8.9 mtpa (100%) LNG development and 
a 200 TJ per day domestic gas plant. 
LNG and condensate will be exported, 
and domestic gas will be transported via 
pipeline to the Dampier Bunbury Natural 
Gas Pipeline. 

Woodside is operator of the Julimar 
Project, with a 65% interest in the 
Julimar and Brunello fields. The Julimar 
Project is a subsea development that 
will supply raw gas and condensate 
from the fields, located approximately 
180 km west-north-west of Dampier, to 
the Wheatstone offshore platform. The 
platform is 225 km from the onshore plant 
site and within Commonwealth waters. 

In 2015, an integrated Julimar Project 
delivery team was formed to execute the 
remaining subsea infrastructure installation 
works. Woodside will commission and 
operate the Julimar and Brunello gas and 
condensate wells and flowlines. 

In 2015, the Wheatstone Project 
progressed key milestones, including 
installation and connection of all subsea 
infrastructure and flow lines and 
commissioning of the offshore platform. 

Marketing

The Julimar and Brunello fields will supply 
approximately 20% of the Wheatstone 
Project’s foundation capacity of natural 
gas. The remaining 80% will be supplied 
from the Chevron-operated Wheatstone 
and Iago fields. Woodside has significantly 
expanded our marketing portfolio, and 
uncontracted volumes from our share of 
production, when available, will form part 
of our overall LNG equity portfolio. At least 
15% of the quantity of LNG processed 
from Woodside titles is committed to 
domestic gas. 

44

Diagram A:  
Woodside's equity interests

Julimar Project1

Wheatstone Project2

Julimar Brunello fields – 
Woodside 65%

Wheatstone 
Iago fields –  
Woodside 0%

20% gas supply3 to 
Wheatstone Project

80% gas supply to 
Wheatstone Project

Offshore platform – Woodside 13%

Offshore pipeline – Woodside 13%

Onshore plant – Woodside 13%

Products

LNG  
Woodside  
13%4

Pipeline gas 
Woodside  
13%4

Condensate 
Woodside  
13%4

All figures are approximate. Product percentage depends on 
supply gas composition.

1.  Operator: Woodside.
2.  Shared facilities, Woodside non-operator.
3.  Woodside’s 65% share of the Julimar Project’s 20% 
gas supply equates to 13% of the gas supply to the 
Wheatstone onshore plant.

4.  Depends on supply gas composition.

Outlook

The Wheatstone Project is more than 65% 
complete5, targeting first LNG in mid-2017. 
The Julimar Project is more than 80% 
complete and remains on target to achieve 
start-up on budget and schedule in 2H 2016, 
as committed to the Wheatstone Project.

5. Source: Chevron.

Wheatstone forecast6

December 
2014 
estimate 

February 
2016 

estimate Variance

US$ m

US$ m

US$ m

2015

2016

2017

Total

1,018

~760

~80

1,8007

1,858

58

6. Includes the Julimar Project.

7. Average spend of $600 million per year from 2015 – 2017  

as advised 16 December 2014.

All Train 1 process modules required for  
first LNG have been delivered to the 
Wheatstone LNG plant site. Image courtesy  
of Chevron Australia.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015GROWTH – DEVELOPMENT

Greater Enfield
Woodside 60% (operator)
The proposed Greater Enfield Development entered the front-end engineering 
and design (FEED) phase on 21 August 2015.

2015 Key performance highlights

Development update

ƒƒ  Entered the FEED phase.

ƒƒ Commenced tendering activities for key 

execute phase scopes of work. 

ƒƒ Issued a preliminary Field Development 

Plan (FDP) for regulatory review.

ƒƒ Executed in-field geophysical, 

geotechnical and environmental survey 
activities.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Target cost savings to enhance 

development value and business case. 

ƒƒ Submit a final FDP.

ƒƒ Target a final investment decision (FID) 

in late 2016.

The potential development involves the 
tieback of the Laverda and Cimatti oil 
fields, through a 31 km flowline to the 
Ngujima-Yin floating production storage 
and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The development is targeting gross (100%) 
contingent resources (2C) of 70 MMboe 
(net Woodside share of 42 MMboe) and is 
located 50 km off the North West Cape in 
Western Australia.

In 2015, studies focused on aggregating 
Laverda and Cimatti oil fields, making 
use of existing infrastructure. Following 
completion of the concept select and 
definition phases, the Greater Enfield Joint 
Venture participants approved entry into 
the FEED phase in August 2015.

Offshore geophysical and geotechnical 
surveys were completed and will assist in 
the FEED and detailed design activities. 

An offshore environment survey was also 
completed, the results of which will assist 
in the preparation of the Environment Plan 
in 2016.

The preliminary FDP was submitted to 
the government regulatory authority, and 
feedback received, during Q4.

2016 Outlook

In 2016, we will continue to progress 
primary and secondary approvals, including 
the submission of a Production Licence 
application and a final FDP. 

Our focus will remain on technical activities 
and delivering targeted cost savings. 

The Greater Enfield Development is 
targeting an FID in late 2016.

Greater Western Flank Phase 2
Woodside 16.67% (operator)

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Completed the FEED phase.

ƒƒ Secured acceptance of the final FDP and production licences.

ƒƒ North West Shelf (NWS) Project participants approved the FID.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Award remaining major contract packages.

ƒƒ Continue manufacture and fabrication of project infrastructure. 

ƒƒ Commence drilling.

Development update

In December, the NWS Project participants approved  
the US$2.0 billion (100% project) Greater Western Flank  
Phase 2 (GWF-2) Project, which will develop approximately  
317 MMboe (100% project) from the combined Keast, Dockrell, 
Sculptor, Rankin, Lady Nora and Pemberton fields using subsea 
infrastructure and a 35 km, 16" pipeline connecting to the existing 
Goodwyn A platform. Gas delivery will initially commence in  
2H 2019 from five wells in the Lady Nora, Pemberton, Sculptor 
and Rankin fields, followed by the remaining three wells in the 
Keast and Dockrell fields in 1H 2020.

The GWF-2 Project is the fourth major gas development for the 
NWS Project in the past seven years, demonstrating a continued 
focus on maximising value from this world-class asset by 
delivering sanctioned projects and developing reserves.

The GWF-2 Project continues a series of NWS Project subsea 
tiebacks that are commercialising its gas reserves in a timely and 
efficient manner to extend plateau production. 

GWF-2 is an economically robust project that will deliver 
significant value by applying Woodside’s substantial experience in 
delivering major subsea tieback projects.

Our approach is to leverage Woodside scope and scale, both 
locally and globally, to reduce costs, increase reliability and deliver 
schedule predictability.

Standardising design and simplifying concept and execution 
enables increased repeatability, allows for synergies with other 
work scopes and helps to reduce risk and improve safety. 

Working with potential suppliers throughout a disciplined and 
rigorous FEED phase, the project delivered significant cost 
reductions ahead of a final investment decision that supported 
improved project economics. 

2016 Outlook

In 2016, we will complete the transition to the execute phase 
and award remaining major contract packages. Manufacture and 
fabrication of key project infrastructure will continue, and the 
project drilling campaign is expected to commence in 2016.  
We will continue to work with key contractors to deliver targeted 
cost savings.

45

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWFloating LNG provides a technically innovative solution to developing the 
remote, offshore Browse resources. Image courtesy of Shell.

Browse FLNG
Woodside 30.6% (operator)
The Browse Joint Venture participants entered the front-end engineering 
and design (FEED) phase on 30 June 2015. We are undertaking all of 
the activities required to finalise the costs and technical definition for the 
proposed development. 

2015 Key performance highlights

Development update

Government approvals 

ƒƒ Entered the FEED phase.

ƒƒ Agreed a Domestic Gas and Supply 

Chain Key Principles Agreement (KPA) 
with the State of Western Australia.

ƒƒ Granted Commonwealth and State 

retention lease renewals.

ƒƒ Granted Commonwealth environmental 

approval from the Minister for 
Environment.

Future objectives

ƒƒ Deliver cost savings to enhance project 

value and business case.

ƒƒ Complete the Browse Development 
Agreement (BDA) based on the KPA.

ƒƒ Secure foundation LNG sales to support 

a final investment decision (FID).

ƒƒ Submit Production Licence applications 

and a final Field Development Plan 
(FDP).

46

In July, the Commonwealth and State 
Governments granted Browse retention 
lease renewals for the Brecknock, 
Calliance and Torosa fields until 2020  
and agreed the Torosa Apportionment 
Deed of Agreement. 

In August, the Minister for Environment 
granted Commonwealth environmental 
approval under the Environment Protection 
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. 

Marketing

Woodside’s Browse LNG and condensate 
entitlements will be marketed on an equity 
basis from Woodside’s global portfolio. 
We continue discussions with a range 
of regional LNG customers regarding 
potential LNG sales.

Outlook

Woodside is targeting project cost 
reductions that reflect current pricing and 
LNG contracts that together deliver an 
economically robust project.

Woodside, as operator of the proposed 
Browse FLNG Development, is 
progressing the use of floating liquefied 
natural gas (FLNG) technology in 
conjunction with a subsea development as 
the development concept to commercialise 
resources in the Browse Basin. 

The Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa 
fields – collectively known as the Browse 
resources – are estimated to contain gross 
(100%) Contingent resources (2C) of  
16.0 Tcf of dry gas and 466 million barrels 
of condensate. The Browse resources 
are located approximately 425 kilometres 
north of Broome in Western Australia.

Following completion of the basis of 
design phase, the Browse Joint Venture 
participants entered the FEED phase on 
30 June 2015. During the FEED phase 
we are undertaking all of the activities 
required to finalise the costs and technical 
definition for the proposed development. 
Further work is being undertaken to 
determine a range of details related to the 
commercialisation, timing and sequencing 
of FLNG deployment. FEED is the final 
stage before an FID is considered.

Woodside’s participating interest in the 
Browse resources is 30.6% (net Woodside 
2C share of 4.9 Tcf of dry gas and  
142.6 MMbbl of condensate). 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Kitimat LNG
Woodside 50% (non-operator)
The Kitimat LNG Project offers a ground-floor entry position in one of the 
most advanced LNG opportunities in Western Canada.

GROWTH – DEVELOPMENTS

2015 Key performance highlights

ƒƒ Drilled four appraisal wells to the 

planned target depth in the Liard Basin.

ƒƒ Completed two development scale 

wells and brought them online.

Future objectives

Deliver earliest final investment decision 
(FID), subject to success in the following 
areas:

ƒƒ reserves certainty through continued 

appraisal of the Liard Basin;

ƒƒ a cost-competitive LNG solution at the 

Kitimat site;

ƒƒ First Nation, government and 

community support;

ƒƒ competitive fiscal framework; and

ƒƒ sufficient LNG sales.

Development update
In April, Woodside acquired a 50% interest 
in the proposed Kitimat LNG Project. The 
project proposes to develop natural gas 
resources found in shale and tight rock 

The Liard and Horn River Basins cover 
approximately 620,000 acres and hold 
significant potential. Image courtesy of 
Chevron Canada.

Sunrise LNG 
Woodside 33.44% (operator)

The Greater Sunrise fields were discovered 
in 1974 and hold gross (100%) Contingent 
resources (2C) of 5.1 Tcf of gas and 
225.9 million barrels of condensate (net 
Woodside share of 1.7 Tcf of dry gas and 
75.6 MMbbl of condensate). The fields are 
located approximately 150 km south-east 
of Timor-Leste and 450 km north-west of 
Darwin, Australia.

In 2015, Woodside, as operator of 
the Sunrise Joint Venture, maintained 
compliance with its title obligations and 
continued our social investment activities.

We remain committed to developing the 
Greater Sunrise fields once government 
alignment is established. 

formations in the Liard and Horn River 
Basins, covering approximately 620,000 
acres (100% project), in north-eastern 
British Columbia. Gas will be transported 
via the proposed Pacific Trail Pipeline  
to a liquefaction facility at Bish Cove  
near Kitimat. 

The project complements our existing 
portfolio and adds to the geographic 
diversity of our LNG business.

Approvals

All major provincial and federal 
environmental approvals are in place, 
including approval from the National 
Energy Board to export up to 10 mtpa  
of LNG (100% project). 

Outlook

Woodside is focused on delivering a 
globally competitive project that is aligned 
with LNG market conditions. 

In 2016, we will continue to appraise 
the Liard Basin, with engineering and 
design work focusing on generating a 
cost-competitive LNG solution. Efforts to 
secure sufficient LNG sales commitments 
will continue.

Woodside will maintain its engagement 
with First Nations and the community 
to ensure appropriate support, and with 
government to establish a competitive and 
stable fiscal framework. 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 
OPPORTUNITIES
Grassy Point LNG
Woodside continues to investigate the 
potential of developing and operating 
an LNG processing and export facility at 
Grassy Point, on the north-west coast of 
British Columbia, Canada. 

In February 2015, Woodside was granted 
a licence from the National Energy Board 
to export up to 20 mtpa of natural gas from 
the Grassy Point site for a period of up to 
25 years.

Throughout 2015, we progressed the 
pre-application Environmental Assessment 
(EA) process required under the Sole 
Proponent Agreement. This includes a 
number of studies to understand potential 
environmental sensitivities. 

As part of the EA process, we are working 
with First Nations, local, provincial and 
federal government agencies and the 
community to understand potential 
environmental, social, economic, health 
and heritage impacts.

Any decision to proceed with an LNG 
development at Grassy Point remains 
subject to a variety of approvals. 

Sempra LNG 
In June 2015, Woodside entered 
into a non-binding Memorandum of 
Understanding with Sempra LNG, an 
affiliate of Sempra Energy, to commence 
preliminary discussions and assessments 
for the potential development of a natural 
gas liquefaction facility at Port Arthur, 
Texas. 

The proposed Port Arthur Liquefaction 
Project is located about 140 km east of 
Houston. The potential project includes 
two natural gas liquefaction trains with 
a total export capability of approximately 
10 mtpa. Any decision by Woodside to 
proceed with a binding arrangement, 
including the establishment of a joint 
venture or partnership with Sempra LNG 
in relation to the project, remains subject 
to further due diligence and necessary 
internal and external approvals. 

47

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCE – BOARD OF DIRECTORS

a

b

c

d

a) MICHAEL A CHANEY, AO 
Chairman – BSc, MBA, Hon LLD (UWA), FAICD
Director since November 2005  
Chairman since July 2007
Independent: Yes 
Age: 65 
Residence: Perth, Australia

Experience
22 years with Wesfarmers Limited, 
including Managing Director and CEO from 
1992 to 2005. Chairman of the National 
Australia Bank Limited (2004 to December 
2015). Three years with investment 
bank Australian Industry Development 
Corporation (1980 to 1983), and prior to 
that eight years as a petroleum geologist 
working on the North West Shelf and in 
the USA and Indonesia. Previously a non-
executive dire  ctor of BHP Billiton Limited 
(19 95 to 2005) and BHP Billiton Plc (2001  
to 2005).

Committee membership
Chair of the Nominations Committee. 
Attends other Board committee meetings. 

Current directorships/other interests
Chair: Wesfarmers Limited (director since 
June 2015).

Director: The Centre for Independent 
Studies Ltd (since 2000).

Chancellor: The University of Western 
Australia (since 2006).

 Member: Prime Minister's Business 
Advisory Council (since 2013) and 
Commonwealth Science Council (since 
November 2014) and Australia-Germany 
Advisory Group. 

Directorships of other listed entities 
within the past three years:  
National Australia Bank Limited  
(2004 to December 2015).

48

b) PETER J COLEMAN 
CEO and Managing Director – BEng, MBA, FATSE
Director since May 2011
Independent: No
Age: 55
Residence: Perth, Australia

Experience
More than 30 years in the global oil and gas 
business, including 27 years’ experience 
with the ExxonMobil group, culminating 
as Vice President Development Company, 
with responsibility for leading development 
and project work in Asia-Pacific region. 
Appointed an Adjunct Professor in 
Corporate Strategy by the University of 
Western Australia in 2012.

Committee membership
Attends Board committee meetings.

Current directorships/other interests
Chair: Australia-Korea Foundation 
(since December 2014) and the Federal 
Government's Advisory Group on 
Australia-Africa Relations (since 2015).

Member: The University of Western 
Australia Business School Board (since 
2011), Executive Committee of the 
Australia Japan Business Co-operation 
Council (since 2011), Australia-India Chief 
Executive Officers’ Forum (since 2015) and 
Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Adviser: Monash Industry Council.

c) MELINDA A CILENTO
BA, BEc (Hons), MEc
Director since December 2008
Independent: Yes
Age: 50
Residence: Melbourne, Australia

Experience
Significant public and private sector 
experience in economic policy 
development and analysis. Deputy Chief 
Executive (2006 to 2010) and Chief 
Economist (2002 to 2010) of the Business 
Council of Australia. Previously worked 
with County Investment Management 
(now Invesco) as Head of Economics, 
the Department of Treasury and the 
International Monetary Fund.

Committee membership
Member of the Human Resources 
& Compensation, Sustainability and 
Nominations Committees.

Current directorships/other interests
Director: Australian Unity Limited  
(since 2014).

Co-Chair: Reconciliation Australia  
(Director since 2010) and NAB Advisory 
Council on Corporate Responsibility  
(member since 2013).

Commissioner (part-time): Productivity 
Commission (since December 2014).

Member: Advisory Panel of the Australian 
Scholarships Foundation and Australian 
Securities and Investments Commission 
External Advisory Panel (since 2013). 

d) FRANK C COOPER, AO
BCom, FCA
Director since February 2013
Independent: Yes
Age: 60
Residence: Perth, Australia

Experience
More than 35 years' experience in 
corporate tax, specialising in the 
mining, energy and utilities sector, 
including most recently as a partner of 
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Director of 
Alinta Infrastructure Limited and  
Alinta Funds Management Limited  
(2005 to 2006).

Committee membership
Chair of the Audit & Risk, Member of the 
Human Resources & Compensation and 
Nominations Committees.

Current directorships/other interests
Chair: Insurance Commission of Western 
Australia, University of Western Australia 
Strategic Resources Committee.

Director: St John of God Australia Limited 
(since January 2015), South32 Limited 
(since May 2015).

Member: Senate of the University of 
Western Australia.

President: Western Australia division 
of the Australian Institute of Company 
Directors.

Trustee: St John of God Health Care  
(since January 2015).

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015BOARD OF DIRECTORS

e

f

g

h

i

e) CHRISTOPHER M HAYNES, OBE
FREng, CEng, FIMechE
Director since June 2011
Independent: Yes
Age: 68
Residence: United Kingdom

Experience
38-year career with Shell including as 
Executive Vice President, Upstream 
Major Projects within Shell’s Projects 
and Technology Business, General 
Manager of Shell’s operations in Syria and 
a secondment as Managing Director of 
Nigeria LNG Ltd. From 1999 to 2002  
Dr Haynes was seconded to Woodside as 
General Ma nager of the North West Shelf 
Venture. Dr Haynes retired from Shell on 
31 August 2011.

Committee membership
Member of the Audit & Risk, Sustainability 
and Nominations Committees .

Current directorships/other interests:
Director: WorleyParsons Limited  
(since 2012).

President: Energy Industries Council  
(since October 2015).

f)  ANDREW JAMIESON, OBE
FREng, CEng, FIChemE
Director since February 2005
Independent: Yes
Age: 68
Residence: United Kingdom

Experience
Former Executive Vice President Gas 
and Projects of Shell Gas and Power 
International BV with more than 30 
years' experience with Shell in Europe, 
Australia and Africa. From 1997 to 1999 
Dr Jamieson was seconded to Woodside 
as General Manager North West Shelf 
Venture. Retired from Shell in June 2009.

Committee membership
Chair of the Human Resources & 
Compensation Committee, Member 
of the Sustainability and Nominations 
Committees.

Current directorships/other interests
Director: Hoegh LNG Partners  
(since 2014), Hoegh LNG Holdings and 
Gaztransport & Technigaz S.A. (GTT) 
(since 2015).

Chair: Seven Energy International Limited 
(Director since 2011).

President: Institution of Chemical 
Engineers (since 2015).

Directorships of other listed entities 
within the past three years: Velocys PLC 
(2010 to 2015).

g) DAVID I McEVOY
BSc (Physics), Grad Dip (Geophysics)
Director since September 2005
Independent: Yes
Age: 69
Residence: Sydney, Australia

Experience
34-year career with ExxonMobil involving 
extensive international exploration and 
development experience.

Committee membership
Chair of the Sustainability Committee. 
Member of the Audit & Risk and 
Nominations Committees. 

Current directorships/other interests:
Director: AWE Limited (since 2006) and 
Seven Group Holdings Limited (since  
May 2015).

Directorships of other listed entities 
within the past three years: Acer Energy 
Limited (2002 to November 2012) and  
Po Valley Energy Ltd (2004 to May 2012).

h) SARAH E RYAN

PhD (Petroleum and Geophysics), BSc (Geophysics) 
(Hons 1), BSc (Geology)
Director since December 2012
Independent: Yes
Age: 49
Residence: Sunshine Coast, Australia

Experience
More than 20 years' experience in the 
oil and gas industry in various technical, 
operational and senior management 
positions, including 15 years with 
Schlumberger Limited. Currently an energy 
adviser for institutional investment firm 
Earnest Partners, having previously been 
responsible for research and portfolio 
management from 2007 until January 
2014.

Committee membership
Member of the Audit & Risk, Sustainability 
and Nominations Committees. 

Current directorships/other interests:
Director: Akastor ASA (since December 
2014).

Directorships of other listed entities within 
the past three years:  
Aker Solutions, ASA (May 2011 to 
December 2014).

i)  GENE T TILBROOK
BSc, MBA
Director since December 2014
Independent: Yes
Age: 64
Residence: Perth, Australia

Experience
Broad experience in corporate strategy, 
investment and finance. Senior executive 
of Wesfarmers Limited between 1985 
and 2009, including in roles as Executive 
Director Finance and Executive Director 
Business Development.

Committee membership
Member of the Audit & Risk, Human 
Resources & Compensation and 
Nominations Committees.

Current directorships/other interests:
Director: Orica Limited, GPT Group 
Limited and the Bell Shakespeare 
Company.

Directorships of other listed entities 
within the past three years:  
Aurizon Holdings Limited (2010 to  
February 2016), Fletcher Building Limited 
(2009 to 2015).

Member: National Board and Western 
Australia division of the Australian Institute 
of Company Directors.

Councillor: Curtin University.

49

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCECORPORATE GOVERNANCE STATEMENT

We believe high standards of governance and transparency are essential.

Corporate governance at Woodside

Woodside is committed to a high level 
of corporate governance and fostering 
a culture that values ethical behaviour, 
integrity and respect. We believe that 
adopting and operating in accordance with 
high standards of corporate governance 
is essential for sustainable long-term 
performance and value creation.

Woodside’s Compass is core to our 
governance framework. It sets out our 
mission, vision and strategic direction and 
core values of integrity, respect, working 
sustainably, working together, discipline 
and excellence. It’s the overarching guide 
for everyone who works for Woodside.

Our corporate governance model 
is illustrated below. The Woodside 
Management System (WMS) sets out 
how Woodside provides management 
governance and assurance. It defines 
how Woodside will deliver its business 
objectives and the boundaries within which 

Woodside employees and contractors are 
expected to work. The WMS establishes 
a common approach to how we operate, 
wherever the location. 

Throughout the 2015 year, Woodside’s 
governance arrangements complied with 
the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s 
Corporate Governance Principles and 
Recommendations (third edition).

Our Corporate Governance Statement 
reports on Woodside’s key governance 
principles and practices. These principles 
and practices are reviewed regularly and 
revised as appropriate to reflect changes 
in law and developments in corporate 
governance. 

 Woodside’s Corporate Governance 
Statement can be viewed in the Governance 
and Compliance section of Woodside’s 
website at: www.woodside.com.au/
Working-Sustainably/governance-and-
compliance.

The Corporate Governance Statement 
discusses arrangements in relation 
to Woodside’s Board of directors, 
committees of the Board, shareholders, 
risk management and internal control, the 
external auditor relationship, and diversity. 

Woodside’s website also contains 
copies of Board and committee charters 
and copies of many of the policies and 
documents mentioned in the Corporate 
Governance Statement. The website is 
updated regularly to ensure it reflects 
Woodside’s most current corporate 
governance information. 

Shareholders

Board

n
o
i
t
a
g
e
e
D

l

A
c
c
o
u
n
t
a
b

i
l
i
t
y

Audit & Risk 
Committee

Human Resources  
& Compensation
Committee

Chief Executive Officer

Nominations 
Committee

Sustainability 
Committee

Independent 
Assurance

External 
Auditors

Internal 
Audit

Major Project  
Assurance Checks

Management Governance and Assurance

Strategy

Risk  
Management

Mission
Vision
Values
Policies

Management Standards

Authorities  
Framework

Operating 
Structure

Management Review 
and Improvement

Operating Standards

Management  
Committees

Woodside Management System

50

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015DIRECTORS' REPORT (including the Remuneration Report)

Environmental compliance

Woodside is subject to a range of 
environmental legislation in Australia and 
other countries in which it operates. 

Details of Woodside’s environmental 
performance are provided on page 34. 

Through its Health, Safety, Environment 
and Quality Policy, Woodside plans and 
performs activities so that adverse effects 
on the environment are avoided or kept as 
low as reasonably practicable. 

Company secretaries

The following individuals have acted as 
company secretary during 2015:

Michael Abbott
BJuris, LLB, BA, MBA

Senior Vice President Corporate and 
Legal and General Counsel and Joint 
Company Secretary 

Mr Abbott joined Woodside in 2007  
and was appointed to the role of  
Senior Vice President Corporate and 
Legal and General Counsel in December 
2014. He was appointed Joint Company 
Secretary effective 3 May 2012. Mr Abbott 
holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of 
Arts degrees and a Masters of Business 
Administration. More information on  
Mr Abbott can be found on page 11.

Warren Baillie
LLB, BCom, Grad. Dip. CSP

Company Secretary 

Mr Baillie joined Woodside in 2005 and 
was appointed Company Secretary 
effective 1 February 2012. Mr Baillie 
holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of 
Commerce degrees and is a solicitor and 
chartered secretary. He is a member of the 
National Board and Vice President of the 
Governance Institute of Australia.

The directors of Woodside Petroleum 
Ltd present their report (including the 
Remuneration Report) together with the 
financial report of the consolidated entity, 
being Woodside Petroleum Ltd and its 
controlled entities, for the year ended  
31 December 2015.

Directors

The directors of Woodside Petroleum Ltd 
in office at any time during or since the end 
of the 2015 financial year and information 
on the directors (including qualifications 
and experience and directorships of listed 
companies held by the directors at any 
time in the last three years), is set out on 
pages 48 and 49. 

The number of directors’ meetings held 
(including meetings of committees of 
the Board) and the number of meetings 
attended by each of the directors of 
Woodside Petroleum Ltd during the 
financial year are shown in Table 3 on  
page 6 of the Corporate Governance 
Statement. 

  Available on our website.

Details of director and senior executive 
remuneration are set out in the 
Remuneration Report. 

The particulars of directors’ interests in 
shares of the company as at the date of 
this report are set out on page 70.

Principal activities

The principal activities and operations of 
the Group during the financial year were 
hydrocarbon exploration, evaluation, 
development, production and marketing. 

Other than as previously referred to in 
the annual report, there were no other 
significant changes in the nature of the 
activities of the consolidated entity during 
the year.

Consolidated results

The consolidated operating profit 
attributable to the company’s shareholders 
after provision for income tax was  
US$26 million (US$2,414 million in 2014).

Review of operations

A review of the operations of the 
Woodside Group during the financial year 
and the results of those operations are set 
out on pages 1 to 47.

Significant changes in the state  
of affairsƒ

The review of operations (pages 1 to 47) 
sets out a number of matters which  
have had a significant effect on the state 
of affairs of the consolidated entity. 
Other than those matters, there were no 
significant changes in the state of affairs  
of the consolidated entity during the 
financial year.

Events subsequent to end of 
financial year

Since the reporting date, the directors have 
declared a fully franked dividend. More 
information is available in the Dividend 
section below. No provision has been 
made for this dividend in the financial 
report as the dividend was not declared or 
determined by the directors on or before 
the end of the financial year.

Dividends

The directors have declared a final dividend 
out of profits of the company in respect 
of the year ended 31 December 2015 
of US43 cents per ordinary share (fully 
franked) payable on 8 April 2016.  
The amount of this dividend will be 
US$354 million. 

A fully franked final dividend of  
US144 cents per ordinary share was  
paid to shareholders on 25 March 2015  
in respect of the year ended 31 December 
2014. The amount of this dividend was 
US$1,186 million. 

Together with the fully franked interim 
dividend of US66 cents per share paid to 
shareholders on 23 September 2015, the 
total dividend paid during the 2015 year 
was US210 cents per share fully franked. 

Woodside’s dividend reinvestment plan 
has been re-activated for the 2015 final 
dividend. 

Likely developments and expected 
results

In general terms, the review of operations 
of the Group gives an indication of likely 
developments and the expected results 
of the operations. In the opinion of 
the directors, disclosure of any further 
information would be likely to result in 
unreasonable prejudice to the Group.

51

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCEREMUNERATION REPORT  (AUDITED)

Contents

Overview  ...............................................................................................................................53 

Executive remuneration  ..............................................................................................54 

CEO remuneration  ..........................................................................................................59

Other equity plans  ..........................................................................................................59

Contracts for executive KMP  ..................................................................................60

Non-executive directors  .............................................................................................60

Human Resources & Compensation Committee  ...................................61

Use of remuneration consultants  ........................................................................61

Reporting notes  ................................................................................................................61

Glossary of key terms used in this report .....................................................110

Summary index of tables

Table

Description

1

2

3 

4

5 

6

7

8

9

Woodside’s KMP during 2015

Woodside five-year performance

Summary of executive remuneration structure

Allocation of executive remuneration between fixed and variable annual reward 

Overview of the EIP

How Short-Term Awards are determined

Allocation Value of VPRs to KMP

Vesting Schedule for VPRs

Allocation Value of VPRs to CEO

10 

Summary of contractual provisions for executive KMP

Annual base Board and committee fees for NEDs

Fees paid to remuneration consultants

Compensation of executive KMP for the year ended 31 December 2015 and 2014

Vesting Schedule for RTSR-tested VPRs awarded for the Performance Years 2009 to 2011

LTA Peer Group for Performance Years 2009 to 2011

STA Peer Group and LTA Peer Group Performance Years 2012 to 2015 – International Oil and Gas Companies

Summary of LTA Terms for Performance Years 2010 to 2015

Summary of deferred STA Terms for Performance Years 2011 to 2015 

Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Time-tested VPRs 

Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Restricted Shares 

Summary of executives KMPs’ interests in RTSR-tested VPRs 

Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Equity Rights under the WEP

Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Equity Rights under the SWEP

Total remuneration paid to non-executive directors in 2015 and 2014 

KMP Shareholdings

Executive KMPs’ interests in Variable Pay Rights (VPR) and Equity Rights (ER)

11

12

13

14

15

16

17 

18

19 

20 

21

22

23 

24 

25

26

52

53

54

55

56

56

57

58

59

59

60

61

61

62

63

63

63

64

64

64

65

66

67

67

68

69

69

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Overview

Guide to this report

This Remuneration Report outlines the remuneration 
arrangements in place and outcomes achieved for Woodside’s 
key management personnel (KMP) during 2015. Woodside’s 
KMP are those people who have a meaningful capacity to shape 
and influence the Group’s strategic direction and performance 
through their actions, either collectively (in the case of the Board) 
or as individuals acting under delegated authorities (in the case 
of the CEO and his direct reports). The names and positions of 
the individuals who were KMP during 2015 are set out in Table 1 
below. 

Given the capacity KMP have in affecting Woodside’s 
performance and the returns delivered to shareholders, it is critical 
to design and implement remuneration policies for KMP that 
support the business strategy and align the interests of executive 
KMP with those of shareholders. This report explains the 
manner in which the Board, assisted by the Human Resources & 
Compensation Committee (Committee), achieves this objective. 

In preparing this report, the Board has endeavoured to provide 
sufficient detail and transparency so that investors can form 
their own views about the appropriateness of the remuneration 
arrangements in place at Woodside. While remuneration 
arrangements for executives are complex and involve a variety 
of components and performance measures, the report contains 
summaries intended to give investors an understanding of how 
these components fit together. There is also a Glossary at the 
back of the report (on page 110) which explains many of the terms 
and abbreviations used throughout the report.

Linking remuneration to strategy and performance

The Board believes that appropriate remuneration policies 
motivate executives to strive for better performance outcomes for 
the Company and shareholders, while at the same time ensuring 
Woodside retains key talent. The Company’s executive incentive 
arrangements are designed to ensure ongoing alignment with 
Woodside’s strategic direction and values. 

The key terms of the executive incentive arrangements are:

ƒƒ a short-term award (STA) delivered two-thirds as cash and one-

third as deferred equity subject to a three year service condition; 
and

ƒƒ a long-term award (LTA), the vesting of which is linked to 

service and relative total shareholder return (RTSR):

ƒƒ tested over a minimum four year performance period, with a 

potential re-test after five years; 

ƒƒ one-third (33%) tested against a peer group of top 50 ASX-

listed companies; and

ƒƒ two-thirds (67%) tested against a peer group of 17 oil and gas 

companies. 

Table 2 on page 54 shows key financial measures of company 
performance over the last five years.

Table 1 – Woodside’s KMP during 2015

Executives

Executive Directors

P Coleman (Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer) (CEO)

Senior executives

M Abbott (Senior Vice President Corporate and Legal and General Counsel)1

R Edwardes (Executive Vice President Development)

S Gregory (Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer)

P Loader (Executive Vice President Global Exploration)

R Matisons (Executive Vice President Marketing, Trading and Shipping)2 

D McLoughlin (Senior Vice President People and Global Capability)3

G Roder (Executive Vice President Business Development and Growth)

Non-executive Directors

M Chaney (Chairman)

M Cilento

F Cooper

C Haynes

A Jamieson

D McEvoy

S Ryan

G Tilbrook

L Tremaine (Executive Vice President Finance and Commercial and Chief Financial Officer)

M Utsler (Chief Operations Officer)  

1.  On 1 January 2015 Mr. Abbott was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President Corporate and Legal and General Counsel. He previously held the position of Senior Vice President  

Legal & General Counsel.

2.  On 1 January 2015, Mr. Matisons was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President Marketing, Trade & Shipping. He previously held the position of Senior Vice President  

Commercial & Marketing. 

3.  On 22 January 2015, Mr. McLoughlin became KMP.

53

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCETable 2 – Woodside five year performance 

Year Ended 31 December

Net Profit After Tax (US$ million) 

Earnings Per Share2 (US cents)

Dividends Per Share (US cents) 

Production (MMboe)

Share closing price (A$) (last trading day of the year)

2015

261

3

109

92.2

28.72

2014

2,414

293

255

95.1

38.01

2013

1,749

213

249

87.0

38.90

2012

2,983

366

130

84.9

33.88

20114

1,507

190

110

64.6

30.62

Relative TSR3 (1 year)

2nd Quartile

1st Quartile

4th Quartile

2nd Quartile

4th Quartile

1.  Detail of net profit after tax is contained in the Financial Position section on page 16.
2.  Basic and diluted earnings per share from total operations.
3.  As discussed under the STA component of EIP on 57.
4.  Amounts were translated to US dollars using monthly average exchange rates. 

Executive remuneration

Remuneration Policy

Woodside’s Remuneration Policy aims to reward executives fairly 
and responsibly in accordance with the regional (and in some 
instances, international) market and ensures that Woodside:

ƒƒ provides competitive rewards that attract, retain and motivate 

executives of the highest calibre;

ƒƒ sets demanding levels of performance which are clearly linked 

to an executive’s remuneration;

ƒƒ structures remuneration at a level that reflects the executive’s 

duties and accountabilities;

ƒƒ benchmarks remuneration against appropriate comparator 

groups;

ƒƒ aligns executive incentive rewards with the creation of value for 

shareholders; and

ƒƒ complies with applicable legal requirements and appropriate 

standards of governance.

Executive remuneration is reviewed annually having regard to 
individual and business performance and relevant comparative 
information. No review was undertaken in 2015 due to the 
company-wide freeze on fixed remuneration.

Executive remuneration structure

Woodside’s remuneration structure for executives, including 
executive KMP, has several components, which are explained  
in Table 3.

Outcomes 

The key remuneration outcomes for Woodside executives in 2015 
were as follows: 

ƒƒ During 2015, Woodside announced that a freeze on fixed 

remuneration would be put in place as part of the response to 
the global downturn in the commodities market. This decision 
affected all Woodside employees, executives (including the 
CEO and other executive KMP) and NEDs. This situation will be 
reviewed in 2016. 

ƒƒ The value of the STA corporate scorecard for 2015 was  

1.35 out of a maximum possible result of two.  
For more detail go to page 57.

ƒƒ The STA pool for 2015 was A$22,933,877 for 98 participants 
including the executive KMP (and the CEO). Refer to page 57.

ƒƒ The 2010 LTA, which was allocated in 2011 was subject to 
the second performance test on 25 February 2015, and as 
Woodside attained the 55th percentile of the peer group1, 60% 
of the award vested and 40% of the award lapsed. 

ƒƒ The 2011 LTA, which was allocated in 2012 was subject to 

the first performance test on 1 March 2015 and as Woodside 
attained the 64th percentile of the peer group1, 78% of the 
award vested and 22% of the award lapsed. 

ƒƒ The next performance test will be for the 2012 LTA, which was 
allocated in 2013 and is subject to testing on 22 February 2017.  
For more detail refer to page 58.

ƒƒ Time-tested Variable Pay Rights (VPRs) for the 2011 

performance year were allocated in 2012 as deferred STA  
and vested during 2015.

ƒƒ Awards of Equity Rights (ERs) were made under the Woodside 
Equity Plan (WEP) in October 2015. The CEO did not receive an 
award under this plan. 

ƒƒ Vesting for the 2012 WEP took place on 1 October 2015. 

ƒƒ No awards were made under the Supplementary Woodside 

Equity Plan (SWEP). For more detail go to page 60.

1. Details of the LTA peer group for performance years 2009 to 2011 is set out in Table 15.

Remuneration Report 2014

Woodside’s Remuneration Report for 2014 was adopted at 
the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 16 April 2015 with a 
clear majority of 417,543,955 votes in favour of the motion 
(representing 92.91% of the votes received).

54

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Table 3 – Summary of executive remuneration structure

Component

How is it determined?

When is it paid?

Fixed remuneration

Short-Term 
Award (STA)

Variable 
Annual 
Reward 
(VAR)

Fixed remuneration is determined on the basis 
of the scope of the executive’s role and their 
individual level of knowledge, skill and experience.

STA payments are based on performance against 
a corporate scorecard and individual performance 
against KPIs. 

The corporate scorecard is based on relative total 
shareholder return (RTSR), production, safety and 
delivery against business plan commitments. 

Individual KPIs vary but can include measures 
relating to health and safety, environment, human 
resources, financial and operational measures.

Regularly throughout the year.

Subject to performance, two-thirds is paid in cash 
in March of the following year. 

The remaining third is delivered as a deferred 
equity award of Restricted Shares, which is 
determined based on a VWAP and vests after 
three years’ further continuous service. 

Long-Term 
Award (LTA)1

LTA is granted in the form of Variable Pay Rights 
(VPRs).

Subject to performance, LTA may vest after a  
four-year performance period. 

If any of the LTA does not vest it will be re-tested 
on the fifth anniversary of the allocation date, 
but will only vest if RTSR exceeds the ranking 
achieved in the prior year and is at or above the 
median of the relevant comparator group. 

If VPRs vest, executives receive an equivalent 
number of Woodside shares on a one-for-one 
basis. The shares will have the same face value 
as all other ordinary fully-paid Woodside shares on 
issue at the time of vesting. 

The value at vesting cannot be predicted in 
advance. The actual value at vesting may be more 
or less than the fair value that is used to determine 
the number of VPRs awarded. The actual value 
received (if any) will depend on performance 
against the hurdles and Woodside’s future share 
price.

Awards under the Woodside Equity Plan (WEP) 
and Supplementary Woodside Equity Plan (SWEP) 
are subject to a three-year vesting period. 

The number of VPRs awarded is calculated by 
dividing the value of the executive’s LTA by the 
fair value of a VPR determined at grant date 
(as calculated by an independent consultant 
in accordance with the relevant accounting 
standards). Fair value is used because it takes into 
account the likelihood of meeting the performance 
conditions and other variable factors, and so better 
reflects the true value of a VPR at the time of 
grant. 

Vesting of LTA is subject to achievement of RTSR 
targets, with 33% measured against the ASX 
50 and the remaining 67% tested against an 
international group of oil and gas companies.

Executives may receive awards under other equity 
plans for various reasons including to:

ƒƒ provide executives with the opportunity to 

participate in ownership of shares;

ƒƒ support a competitive base remuneration 

position having regard to internal and external 
relativities; and

ƒƒ retain key talent.

Generally, awards are calculated with reference 
to salary and performance as assessed under 
Woodside’s performance review process.

Other equity plans

1.  For awards for the 2012 performance year onwards. Details on vesting schedule and peer groups for performance years 2009 – 2011 are contained in Tables 14 and 15 respectively. 

55

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCEProportion of remuneration at risk

Executive Incentive Plan (EIP)

The target allocation of remuneration between fixed remuneration 
and VAR for Woodside’s executives is shown in Table 4.  
A higher proportion of the CEO’s remuneration is ’at risk’ 
relative to that of other executives as the CEO has the greatest 
opportunity to influence the company’s performance. 

The actual percentages received will vary from year to year 
for each executive depending on performance outcomes. 
Participation in other equity plans is not taken into account  
for the calculation of the percentages shown in the table. 

Table 4 – Allocation of executive remuneration  
between fixed and Variable Annual Reward

The Executive Incentive Plan (EIP) is used to deliver Short-Term 
Awards and Long-Term Awards to executives, other than the CEO.  
The CEO’s individual arrangements are described on page 59. 

The EIP aims to reward executives for meeting or exceeding their 
individual performance targets, while at the same time linking 
their reward to the creation of long-term sustainable wealth for 
shareholders.

Table 5 illustrates how EIP awards will be determined for the 2015 
Performance Year, as well as their lifecycle in future years. A more 
detailed explanation of each component is provided later in this 
report on pages 57 to 58.

Executive KMP

45-50

30-33

20-22

CEO

30

30

0

20

Fixed Annual Reward

40
Percent %

60

STA (at risk)

40

80

100

LTA (at risk)

Table 5 – Overview of the EIP

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Performance Year

Executives must be 
employed for at least part of 
the Performance Year and 
achieve at least an acceptable 
level of performance in 
their individual performance 
assessment to be eligible for 
an EIP award.

Eligible executives receive 
a Variable Annual Reward 
(VAR) under the EIP

VAR for a Performance Year 
is calculated as a percentage 
of fixed remuneration, which 
is determined by the Board 
taking into account relevant 
data on levels of variable 
reward being offered in the 
market.

VAR consists of:

60% STA

Adjusted in accordance 
with the STA pooling and 
performance assessment 
process.

Two-thirds of the STA is paid 
in early 2016 as cash while 
the other third is awarded as 
Restricted Shares.

40% LTA

Awarded as Variable Pay 
Rights (VPRs).

56

Restricted Shares 

Subject to a three-year 
deferral period ending in 
2019.

VPRs

Subject to RTSR 
performance over a 
four-year period up to 
the vesting date on 
19 February 2020.

VPRs that do not 
vest after the four- 
year period may 
vest after a five-year 
period, subject to 
performance.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Short-Term Award (STA)

Key features of STA

Who participates? Executives, including all executive KMP 
other than the CEO, participate in the EIP. The CEO has similar 
arrangements under his contract.

What are the performance conditions? STA outcomes are 
determined based on performance against the corporate 
scorecard and performance against individual KPIs.

How is performance assessed? The Board assesses 
performance against the corporate scorecard. For executive 
KMP, individual performance assessments are conducted by 
the CEO against their agreed KPIs and demonstrated values 
and behaviour, and are subject to approval by the Committee. 

How is it delivered? Two-thirds is paid in cash and one-third is 
awarded as Restricted Shares subject to a three-year deferral 
period. The number of Restricted Shares is calculated by 
dividing the deferred STA value by the Pricing Date Volume 
Weighted Average Price (VWAP). Participants are not required 
to make any payment in respect of these restricted shares on 
grant or at vesting. 

What is the maximum and minimum STA award that an 
executive can receive? Executives do not have an individual 
maximum STA opportunity because their VAR and the 
size of the STA pool varies from year to year depending on 
performance and other factors. The overall STA pool for 2015 
was A$22,933,877 for 98 participants including the executive 
KMP (and the CEO). This was distributed amongst the 
participants in accordance with the pooling process outlined 
in Table 6. The minimum STA award that an executive can 
receive is zero if their individual performance is assessed as 
unacceptable.

What were the outcomes in 2015? The value of the STA 
corporate scorecard for 2015 was 1.35 out of a maximum 
possible result of two. 

Time-tested Variable Pay Rights (VPRs) for the 2011 
performance year were allocated in 2012 as deferred STA  
and vested during 2015.

Individual KPIs for 2015 Short-Term Awards

A range of individual key performance indicators (KPIs) were 
adopted for 2015 reflecting the varied responsibilities of 
executives who participate in the STA. KPIs are chosen to align 
individual performance with the achievement of Woodside’s 
business plan and objectives. Examples of KPIs adopted for 2015 
include the following:

ƒƒ health and safety (e.g. total recordable case frequency, high 

potential incident frequency);

ƒƒ environment (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, flared gas);

ƒƒ human resources (e.g. talent management, capability 

development and diversity);

ƒƒ financial (e.g. revenue, operating costs, earnings before interest 
and tax, return on average capital employed, production costs,  
drilling costs); and

ƒƒ operational (e.g. production volumes, project progress).

Corporate scorecard measures and outcomes for  
2015 STAs

Company performance is determined by the Board following 
assessment against a corporate scorecard of key measures that 
align with Woodside’s overall business performance.

Management performance is determined by the Board following 
assessment against a balanced scorecard of key measures that 
align with Woodside’s overall business performance.

Table 6 – How Short-Term Awards are determined

At the start of the year, 
KPIs for each executive 
are set out in an individual 
performance agreement.

Following the end of 
the year, individual 
performance is assessed 
against KPIs.

STA is determined for each executive 
where individual performance is 
acceptable.

Executives are sorted into ‘pool groups’ to 
ensure a fair allocation of STA.

Each pool is adjusted by a multiple of zero 
to two, based on corporate scorecard 
performance.

Each executive is allocated a proportion 
of the relevant pool, based on individual 
performance relative to other executives in 
the same pool.

STA is delivered two thirds in cash and  
one-third in Restricted Shares, with a 
three-year deferral period.

No STA is awarded 
to individuals 
whose performance 
is assessed as 
unacceptable.

The 2015 scorecard is based on four equally weighted measures:  

ƒƒ Relative Total Shareholder Return (RTSR): Indicator of overall 
company performance relative to the performance of 17 oil and 
gas peer companies (see Table 16 on page 63) and the ASX 50 
over the Performance Year. 

ƒƒ Production: Underpins the company revenue and profit. 

ƒƒ Safety: A strong safety performance is required to maintain 
a licence to operate and retain the company’s position as a 
partner and employer of choice. 

ƒƒ Delivery against business plan commitments: Measures 

the company’s delivery of commitments made to market and 
considers operational performance, financial performance and 
delivery of Woodside’s growth agenda.

The measures for the scorecard were chosen because of the 
impact they have on shareholder value. 

For the 2015 Performance Year, the Board determined a scorecard 
outcome of 1.35 out of a maximum of two. In summary, for 2015, 
Woodside:

ƒƒ achieved a RTSR rank of 8 against oil and gas peer companies 

and 40 against the ASX 50;

ƒƒ delivered annual production of 92.2 million barrels of oil 

equivalent, our second highest result;

ƒƒ achieved a Total Recordable Injury Rate of 1.71 per million man 
hours (a 10% improvement on 2014) and two ’Tier 2’ Process 
Safety Events occured in the year; and

ƒƒ met or exceeded the majority of 2015 business plan 

commitments. In particular, production, asset utilisation, opex, 
flaring, cost reduction and efficiency improvement programs are 
all ahead of targets. This was achieved with approximately 10% 
fewer employees than at the start of 2015.

This performance outcome resulted in a total available STA of 
A$22,933,877 across all pools.

57

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCEDeferral of STAs

Table 7 – Allocation value of VPRs to KMP

Executive

M Abbott

R Edwardes

S Gregory

P Loader

R Matisons

D McLoughlin 

G Roder

L Tremaine

M Utsler

Fair value at  
grant date

Face value at  
grant date

$

163,901

337,001

180,282

258,224

185,864

122,913

302,708

288,378

339,262

$

293,589

603,656

322,932

462,546

332,931

220,168

542,228

516,560

607,705

LTA performance hurdles 

Once the number of VPRs is determined, the VPRs are divided 
into two portions with each portion subject to a separate RTSR 
performance hurdle tested over an initial four-year period. 

For the 2015 Performance Year, one-third (33%) of the VPRs will 
be tested against a comparator group that comprises the entities 
within the ASX 50 index at 1 December 2015. The remaining two-
thirds (67%) of the VPRs will be tested against an international 
group of oil and gas companies. The oil and gas companies used 
for Performance Years since 2012 are set out in Table 16 on 
page 63. This international peer group was chosen as Woodside 
competes globally for resources, market and people, operating in 
an international commodity business. 

How LTAs align with strategy

The LTA has been designed to align with our company strategy 
through carefully chosen peer groups that include both 
competitors for investor funds, and domestic and overseas oil and 
gas players. RTSR was chosen as the LTA performance measure 
in order to ensure that Woodside’s executives’ remuneration 
is aligned with the company’s performance in relation to the 
performance of the two peer groups. The weighting towards  
the international peer group reflects our goal of becoming a  
global leader. The Board believes that RTSR best reflects  
creation of shareholder wealth and is both transparent and  
widely understood. 

The LTA performance period is initially tested after four years as 
Woodside operates in a capital intensive industry with investment 
timelines averaging five to ten years. This makes it imperative 
that executives take decisions that are in the long-term interest of 
shareholders, focused on value creation taking into account the 
commodity price cycles of the oil and gas industry. 

The STA for a Performance Year is delivered two-thirds in cash, 
and one-third is made as an award of Restricted Shares subject to 
a three-year deferral period. 

Generally, vesting of the deferred STA is subject to the executive’s 
employment not being terminated with cause, or by resignation, 
for three years after allocation. The deferred STA may vest prior 
to the expiry of the three years upon a change of control event, or 
on the death or total and permanent disablement of the executive. 
Deferred STA will also generally vest upon redundancy or 
retirement with effect from a date determined by the Board. There 
are no further performance conditions for vesting of deferred STA.

ƒƒ A summary of the terms of unvested deferred STA awarded to 
KMP is provided in Table 18 on page 64. Details of Restricted 
Shares awarded to KMP are provided in Table 20 on page 65. 

Long-Term Award (LTA)

Key features of LTA

Who participates? Executives, including executive KMP other 
than the CEO, participate in the EIP. The CEO has similar 
arrangements under his contract.

What are the performance conditions? Vesting of 33% of 
the LTA is subject to RTSR performance against the ASX 50. 
Vesting of the remaining 67% is subject to RTSR performance 
against an international group of oil and gas companies. 
Participants are not required to make any payment in respect of 
these VPRs on grant or at vesting. 

What is the performance period? Performance is initially 
tested over a four-year performance period.

How is performance assessed? RTSR performance is derived 
from Woodside’s position in the RTSR rankings of members of 
the peer groups over the performance period. This is calculated 
by an independent consultant.

What were the outcomes in 2015? The 2010 LTA, which was 
allocated in 2011 was subject to the second performance 
test on 25 February 2015, and as Woodside attained the 55th 
percentile of the peer group, 60% of the award vested and 
40% of the award lapsed. 

The 2011 LTA, which was allocated in 2012 was subject to 
the first performance test on 1 March 2015 and as Woodside 
attained the 64th percentile of the peer group, 78% of the 
award vested and 22% of the award lapsed. 

The next performance test will be for the 2012 LTA, which was 
allocated in 2013 and is subject to testing on 22 February 2017. 

LTA – valuation and allocation

LTA for the 2015 Performance Year is granted in the form of VPRs. 
The number of VPRs awarded is calculated by dividing the value  
of the executive’s LTA by the fair value of a VPR. The fair value 
was determined by an independent consultant and reflects 
potential vesting outcomes (having regard to applicable 
performance conditions) as well as other factors such as  
volatility and forfeiture risks. 

The fair value at grant date used to determine the number of VPRs 
allocated to executive KMP for the 2015 Performance Year was  
US$17.39 per VPR. The face value of a Woodside share at the 
grant date was US$31.15. 

ƒƒ Table 7 sets out the fair value and face value of LTA made to 

executive KMP for the 2015 Performance Year based on these 
values. Details for the CEO are set out on page 59.

58

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Measurement of LTAs 

ƒƒ building enterprise and organisational capacity;

The total shareholder return in respect of Woodside and both peer 
groups is calculated by an external adviser in accordance with the 
EIP rules on the fourth anniversary of the allocation of these VPRs. 
The outcome of the test is measured against the schedule below:

Table 8 – Vesting schedule for VPRs1

Woodside RTSR percentile  
position within peer group

Less than 50th percentile

Equal to 50th percentile

Vesting of VPRs

no vesting

50% vest

Equal to or greater than 75th percentile

100% vest

ƒƒ enhancing culture and reputation; and

ƒƒ ensuring shareholder focus.

At the completion of the Performance Year, each non-executive 
director contributes to the documented review of the CEO’s 
performance for that year. This is used to determine the CEO’s 
individual performance factor for the Performance Year.

The STA for the CEO is calculated by multiplying the CEO’s fixed 
remuneration by the scorecard multiple and the CEO’s individual 
performance factor. STA is delivered as two-thirds cash and one-
third Restricted Shares. Restricted Shares have the same terms 
and conditions as those awarded to other executives as described 
on page 57.

Vesting between these percentile points is on a pro rata basis. 

LTA

1. Schedule used for RTSR tested VPRs awarded for 2012 – 2015 Performance Years.

Any VPRs which do not vest at this time are subject to a second 
RTSR test on the fifth anniversary of the allocation date, but 
further vesting in accordance with the schedule will only occur 
if Woodside equals or exceeds the 50th percentile threshold 
and achieves a superior RTSR ranking at the second test date 
compared to that achieved on the first test date. Any VPRs that do 
not vest on the fifth anniversary lapse.

LTA – other terms 

VPRs lapse if the executive’s employment is terminated with 
cause, or by resignation, prior to vesting.

VPRs may vest prior to the satisfaction of the vesting conditions 
upon a change of control event, or on the death or total 
and permanent disablement of the executive. In the event 
of redundancy, retirement or the cessation of a fixed term 
employment contract of a participant, VPRs continue in the plan 
and remain subject to the normal performance measures.

A summary of the terms and conditions of unvested VPRs under 
each award made to executives under the EIP is provided in  
Table 17 on page 64. A summary of executive KMP interests in 
VPRs is provided in Table 21 on page 66.

CEO remuneration

Mr Coleman’s remuneration is governed by his contract of 
employment which, in summary, for 2015 is comprised of:

ƒƒ 30% fixed remuneration;

ƒƒ 30% STA component; and

ƒƒ 40% LTA component.

STA

The grant of an STA to the CEO is determined based on the 
scorecard and individual performance as determined by the Board. 
The STA award is capped to a maximum of two times fixed annual 
reward. The CEO’s STA award for 2015 was 82% of maximum 
and the remainder was forfeited. The scorecard and performance 
against the scorecard measures is described on page 57 of this 
report under the section titled Corporate scorecard measures 
and outcomes for 2015 STAs. 

Each year the Board determines and documents the factors which 
will be used to assess the annual individual performance of the 
CEO. The individual performance of the CEO is reviewed by the 
Board against the following factors which were chosen because of 
their impact on shareholder value:

ƒƒ setting and pursuing the growth agenda;

ƒƒ achieving effective execution;

The LTA entitlement for the 2015 Performance Year will be 
allocated in February 2016 and will be subject to RTSR testing for 
the first time in February 2020. The vesting conditions for the LTA 
allocation reflect those outlined on page 58 and summarised in 
Table 17 on page 64 in respect of the 2015 LTA allocation for other 
executives. 

The fair value at grant date used to determine the number of VPRs 
allocated to the CEO as his LTA for the 2015 Performance Year 
was the same as the fair value used to determine the number 
of VPRs awarded to other executive KMP, i.e. US$17.39 per 
VPR. The face value of a Woodside share at the grant date was 
US$31.15. The table below sets out the allocation value of the 
CEO’s 2015 LTA based on these values.

Table 9 – Allocation value of VPRs to CEO

VPRs

Fair value at  
grant date

Face value at 
grant date

$

$

153,833

2,675,156

4,791,898

Other equity plans

Woodside Equity Plan (WEP) 

Woodside has a history of providing employees with the 
opportunity to participate in ownership of shares in the company. 
This has supported staff retention and alignment of employees 
with shareholder interests. As part of the strategy to attract, retain 
and motivate employees, the Board approved the introduction 
from November 2011 of a broad-based, long-term equity plan 
called the WEP to recognise and reward the commitment of 
eligible employees.

The WEP is available to all Australian based permanent employees 
including executives, other than the CEO. Woodside’s intention is 
to enable eligible employees to build up a holding of equity in the 
company as they progress through their career at Woodside.

The number of Equity Rights (ERs) offered to each eligible 
employee is calculated with reference to salary and individual 
performance on an annual basis. There are no further ongoing 
performance conditions upon allocation of each individual’s ERs. 
The linking of performance to an allocation allows Woodside to 
recognise and reward eligible employees for high performance. 

Each ER entitles the participant to receive a Woodside share on the 
vesting date three years after the effective grant date.

Vesting of grants made under the WEP in 2012 took place on  
1 October 2015. 

59

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCETable 22 on page 67 provides a summary of executive KMP 
interests in ERs under the WEP. 

Supplementary Woodside Equity Plan (SWEP)

In October 2011, the Board approved a remuneration strategy 
which includes the use of equity to support a competitive base 
remuneration position. To this end, the Board approved the 
establishment of the Supplementary Woodside Equity Plan 
(SWEP) to enable the offering of targeted retention awards of 
ERs for key capability. The SWEP was designed to be offered to 
a small number of employees identified as being retention critical. 
The SWEP awards have service conditions and no performance 
conditions. Each ER entitles the participant to receive a Woodside 
share on the vesting date three years after the effective grant 
date. There were no awards issued under the SWEP in 2015. 

Table 23 on page 67 provides a summary of executive KMP’s 
interests in ERs under the SWEP. 

ERs under both the WEP and the SWEP may vest prior to the 
vesting date on a change of control or on a pro rata basis, at the 
discretion of the CEO, limited to the following circumstances; 
redundancy, retirement (after six months’ participation), death, 
termination due to illness or incapacity or total and permanent 
disablement of a participating employee. An employee whose 
employment is terminated by resignation or for cause prior to the 
vesting date will forfeit all of their ERs.

Legacy plans – STAs and LTAs 2009 to 2011

The deferred portion of STA for the Performance Years from 2009 
to 2011 inclusive was delivered in the form of time-tested VPRs. 
Details of time-tested VPRs awarded for previous performance 
periods are provided in Table 19 on page 64.

The LTA for the Performance Years from 2009 to 2011 inclusive 
was granted in the form of VPRs, the vesting of which is linked 
to service and relative total shareholder return. Performance is 
initially tested over a three-year performance period.

Vesting schedule and peer groups for all VPRs tested against an 
RTSR hurdle are set out in Tables 14 and 15 on page 63. 

Non-executive directors (NEDs)

Key features of NEDs remuneration

What remuneration do NEDs receive? NEDs receive 
Board and committee fees, which are inclusive of statutory 
superannuation (or payments in lieu for overseas based NEDs). 

Does the Chairman receive higher fees? The Chairman 
receives a higher Board fee than other NEDs, but does not 
receive extra fees for committee work. Committee Chairs 
receive higher base committee fees than other respective 
committee members.

Do NEDs receive performance-based remuneration or 
retirement benefits? No.

Were there any changes in 2015? There were no adjustments 
to NED fees for 2015. 

Remuneration Policy

Woodside’s Remuneration Policy for NEDs aims to attract, retain, 
motivate and to remunerate fairly and responsibly having regard to: 

ƒƒ the level of fees paid to NEDs relative to other major Australian 

companies;

ƒƒ the size and complexity of Woodside’s operations; and

ƒƒ the responsibilities and work requirements of Board members.

Contracts for executive KMP

All KMP have a contract of employment. Table 10 below contains a summary of the key contractual provisions of the contracts of 
employment for the executive KMP.

Table 10 – Summary of contractual provisions for executive KMP

Name

P Coleman

M Abbott

Employing company

Contract duration

Woodside Petroleum Ltd

Unlimited

Woodside Energy Ltd

Unlimited

R Edwardes

Woodside Energy Ltd

Fixed Term Contract until  
31 December 2018

S Gregory 

R Matisons

Woodside Energy Ltd

Woodside Energy Ltd 

D McLoughlin 

Woodside Energy Ltd

Unlimited

Unlimited 

Unlimited 

P Loader

Woodside Energy Ltd

G Roder

Woodside Energy Ltd

Fixed Term Contract until  
1 July 2018

Fixed Term Contract until  
31 August 2017

L Tremaine

Woodside Energy Ltd

Unlimited

M Utsler 

Woodside Energy Ltd

Fixed Term Contract until  
2 December 2018

Termination 
notice period 
company1,2

Termination notice 
period executive

12 months

6 months

6 months

12 months

12 months

6 months

6 months

6 months

12 months

6 months

6 months

3 months 

6 months

6 months

6 months

3 months

6 months

6 months

6 months

3 months

1.  Termination provisions – Woodside may choose to terminate the contract immediately by making a payment in lieu of notice equal to the fixed remuneration the executive would have received 

during the ‘Company Notice Period’. In the event of termination for serious misconduct or other nominated circumstances, executives are not entitled to this termination payment. Any payments 
made in the event of a termination of an executive contract will be consistent with the Corporations Act 2001.

2.  On termination of employment, executives will be entitled to the payment of any fixed remuneration calculated up to the termination date, any leave entitlement accrued at the termination 

date and any payment or award permitted under the EIP Rules. Executives are restrained from certain activities for specified periods after termination of their employment in order to protect 
Woodside’s interests. 

60

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Fees paid to NEDs are recommended by the Human Resources 
& Compensation Committee based on advice from external 
remuneration consultants, and determined by the Board, subject 
to an aggregate limit of A$3.75 million per financial year, which 
was approved by shareholders at the 2014 AGM. 

Human Resources & Compensation Committee
The Committee assists the Board to determine appropriate 
remuneration policies and structures for NEDs and executives. 
Further information on the role of the Committee is described in 
section 3.4 of the Corporate Governance Statement. 

During 2015, Woodside announced that a freeze on fixed 
remuneration would be put in place as part of the response to 
the global downturn in the commodities market. This decision 
affected all Woodside employees, executives (including the 
CEO and other executive KMP) and NEDs. This situation will be 
reviewed in 2016. 

The Woodside shareholding guideline for NEDs requires NEDs 
to hold a minimum holding of 2,000 Woodside shares and NEDs 
who have less than the minimum holding are required to direct 
25% of net (after tax) fees to the purchase of Woodside shares 
until the minimum holding requirement is satisfied. The NEDs may 
utilise the Non-Executive Directors’ Share Plan (NEDSP) to acquire 
the shares on market at market value. As the shares are acquired 
with net fees the shares in the NEDSP are not subject to any 
forfeiture conditions.

NEDs remuneration structure

NEDs remuneration consists of base Board fees and committee 
fees, including statutory superannuation contributions or 
payments in lieu (currently 9.5%). Other payments may be made 
for additional services outside the scope of Board and committee 
duties. NEDs do not earn retirement benefits other than 
superannuation and are not entitled to any form of performance-
linked remuneration. 

Table 11 below shows the annual base Board and committee fees 
for NEDs.

In addition to these fees, NEDs are entitled to reimbursement of 
reasonable travel, accommodation and other expenses incurred 
attending meetings of the Board, committees or shareholders, or 
while engaged on Woodside business. NEDs are not entitled to 
compensation on termination of their directorships.

Board fees are not paid to the CEO, as the time spent on Board 
work and the responsibilities of Board membership are considered 
in determining the remuneration package provided as part of the 
normal employment conditions.

The total remuneration paid to, or in respect of, each NED in 2015 
is set out in Table 24 on page 68. 

Use of remuneration consultants
The Committee directly engages independent external advisers 
to provide input to the process of reviewing NEDs and executive 
remuneration. The Committee receives executive remuneration 
recommendations directly from external independent 
remuneration consultants. Table 12 shows the fees payable to 
independent external remuneration consultants during 2015.

Under communications and engagement protocols adopted by 
the Company, the market data reports and the recommendations 
were provided directly to the Committee Chairman, and the 
consultants provided a statement to the Committee that the 
reports and recommendations had been prepared free of undue 
influence from KMP. The Committee had full oversight of the 
review process and therefore it, and the Board, were satisfied that 
the recommendations made by Egan Associates were free from 
undue influence by KMP. 

Table 12 – Fees paid to remuneration consultants

Remuneration 
consultant

Egan Associates

Services Provided

Fees

A$25,830

Market data and 
remuneration 
recommendations 
(2016 CEO 
remuneration review)

Reporting notes

Reporting in United States dollars

In this report, the remuneration and benefits reported have 
been presented in US dollars, unless otherwise stated. This is 
consistent with the functional and presentation currency of  
the company. 

Compensation for Australian-based employees and all KMP is  
paid in Australian dollars and, for reporting purposes, converted 
to US dollars based on the applicable exchange rate. Valuation 
of equity awards is converted at the spot rate applying when the 
equity award is granted.

Table 11 – Annual base Board and committee fees for NEDs

Position

Chairman of the Board1

Non-executive Directors2

Committee Chairman

Committee Member

Board

A$

723,3003

212,7003

1.  Inclusive of committee work.
2.  Board fees paid to non-executive directors, other than the Chairman.
3.  Annual fee from 1 July 2014.

Audit & Risk 
Committee

Human 
Resources & 
Compensation 
Committee

Sustainability 
Committee

Nominations 
Committee

A$

A$

A$

56,0003

27,9003

47,4003

23,7003

47,4003

23,7003

A$

Nil

Nil

61

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCETable 13 – Compensation of executive KMP for the year ended 31 December 2015 and 2014 

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the components of remuneration for each of the executive KMP, calculated in 
accordance with accounting standards.

Fixed Annual  
Reward

Variable Annual 
Reward

Short  
term

Post 
employment

Short  
term  

Share based 
payments

d
n
a
s
e
e
f

,
s
e
i
r
a
l
a
S

s
e
c
n
a
w
o

l
l
a

d
n
a
s
t
fi
e
n
e
B

c
n
i
(
s
e
c
n
a
w
o

l
l
a

1
)
y
r
a
t
e
n
o
m
-
n
o
n

y
n
a
p
m
o
C

o
t
s
n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
n
o
c

n
o
i
t
a
u
n
n
a
r
e
p
u
s

d
r
a
w
A
m
r
e
T
-

t
r
o
h
S

2
)
h
s
a
C

(

$

$

 $

$

3
s
n
a
l
p
e
r
a
h
S

$

e
v
a
e
l
e
c
i
v
r
e
s
g
n
o
L

$

P Coleman,  
Chief Executive Officer

M Abbott,  
Senior Vice President Corporate and 
Legal and General Counsel4

2015

1,829,049 

 152,493

 14,304

 2,007,413

 3,488,469

 63,088

2014

2,174,957

146,653

16,479

2,950,283

3,092,961

76,423

2015

 310,743

15,526 

83,106 

200,654 

257,297 

42,601 

2014 

- 

-

-

-

-

-

R Edwardes,  
Executive Vice President 
Development5

S Gregory,  
Senior Vice President and  
Chief Technology Officer

P Loader,  
Executive Vice President  
Global Exploration6,7

R Matisons,  
Executive Vice President  
Marketing, Trading and Shipping8

D McLoughlin,   
Senior Vice President  
People and Global Capability9

G Roder,  
Executive Vice President Business 
Development and Growth10

L Tremaine,  
Executive Vice President  
Finance and Commercial and  
Chief Financial Officer

M Utsler,  
Chief Operations Officer6,11

2015

 786,031

25,630 

14,304 

440,297 

379,166 

22,304 

2014

883,779

57,569

16,479

632,382

334,964

25,762

2015

 421,790

14,388 

 14,304

260,580 

346,471 

15,924 

2014

479,811

23,836

16,479

338,304

277,773

31,428

2015

656,081 

 64,635

- 

 337,364

 442,557

 16,465

2014

743,085

36,085

484,543

204,099

17,290

2015

 352,674

 67,703

 96,831

 232,188

 348,562

 16,396

 2014

- 

-

-

-

-

-

2015

 336,031

 16,738

 13,416

 176,800

61,839 

 7,650

 2014

- 

-

-

-

-

-

2015

671,396 

 43,930

 59,258

296,609 

542,504 

20,073 

2014

808,791

10,414

38,224

568,012

346,443

22,710

2015

 607,197

13,131 

17,124 

 414,316

706,360 

22,838 

2014

681,326

52,779

20,555

676,415

556,717

23,838

2015

954,838 

40,625 

2014

1,072,898

34,639

 -

  -

455,769 

 511,756

22,775 

795,782

227,228

24,872

s
t
fi
e
n
e
b
n
o
i
t
a
n
m
r
e
T

i

$

  -

 - 

  -

  -

  -

 - 

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

  -

n
o
i
t
a
r
e
n
u
m
e
r

l
a
t
o
T

$

7,554,816 

8,457,756

909,927 

-

1,667,732 

1,950,935

 1,073,457

1,167,631

1,517,102 

1,485,102

 1,114,354

-

d
e
t
a
l
e
r
e
c
n
a
m
r
o
f
r
e
P

%

 73

71

 50

-

49 

50

57 

53

51 

46

 52

-

 612,474

39 

-

1,633,770 

1,794,594

-

 51

51

1,780,966 

 63

2,011,630

61

 1,985,763

2,155,419

49 

47

1.  Reflects the value of allowances and non-monetary benefits (including travel, health insurance, car parking and any associated fringe benefit tax).

2.  The amount represents the short-term incentive earned in the respective year, which is actually paid in the following year.

3.  ‘Share plan’ incorporates all equity-based plans. In accordance with the requirements of AASB 2 Share-based Payment, the fair value of rights as at their date of grant has been determined by 

applying the Black-Scholes option pricing technique or binomial valuation method combined with a Monte Carlo simulation. The fair value of rights is amortised over the vesting period, such that 
‘total remuneration’ includes a portion of the fair value of unvested equity compensation during the year. The amount included as remuneration is not related to or indicative of the benefit (if any) 
that individual executives may ultimately realise should these equity instruments vest. 

4.  On 1 January 2015, Mr Abbott was appointed to KMP. Mr Abbott did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2015. Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

5.  Mr Edwardes' share based payments are recognised over the shorter of his contract end date and the vesting date of the performance right. In the current period his contract end date was 

extended from 31 December 2016 to 31 December 2018. The expense recognition period of his performance rights has been adjusted to reflect his new contract end date. 

6.  As a non-resident for Australian tax purposes Mr Loader and Mr Utsler have elected to receive a cash payment in lieu of all superannuation contributions, in accordance with the Superannuation 
Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. The cash payment is subject to (PAYG) income tax and paid as part of their normal monthly salary. The amount is included in salaries, fees and allowances.

7.  Mr Loader’s 2014 and 2015 share-based payment amortisation expenses have been accelerated based on his contract end date of 1 July 2018.

8.  On 1 January 2015, Mr Matisons was appointed to KMP. Mr Matisons did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2015.  

Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

9.  On 22 January 2015, Mr McLoughlin was appointed to KMP. Mr McLoughlin did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2015.  

Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

10. Mr. Roder’s 2014 and 2015 share-based payment amortisation expenses have been accelerated based on his contract end date of 31 August 2017.

11. Mr Utsler’s 2014 and 2015 share-based payment amortisation expense has been accelerated based on his contract end date of 2 December 2018.

62

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 14 – Vesting schedule for RTSR-tested VPRs awarded for the Performance Years 2009 to 2011

The table below sets out the relative TSR rankings that are required for vesting of the VPRs that were granted in respect of the  
2009 to 2011 Performance Years.

Woodside RTSR percentile 
position within Peer Group

Vesting of RTSR-tested 
VPRs

Less than 50th percentile

Equal to 50th percentile

Equal to 75th percentile

Equal to 100th percentile

no vesting

50% vest

100% vest

150% vest (i.e. 50% uplift 
for topping LTA Peer Group)

Vesting between these percentile points is on a pro rata basis. While a VPR generally only 
confers an entitlement to a single share on vesting (or its cash value), when greater than  
100% vesting is achieved additional shares are allocated in respect of each RTSR-tested  
VPR to achieve the necessary uplift.

When testing occurs in relation to awards that are subject to an RTSR hurdle (being the LTA for the 2009 to 2011 Performance Years 
and both the STA and LTA for the 2012 to 2015 Performance Years), Woodside’s total shareholder return will be ranked against the total 
shareholder returns of the relevant list of companies set out below. For 2012 to 2015 STA and LTA awards, it will also be ranked against 
the total shareholder returns of the ASX 50.

Table 15 – LTA Peer Group for Performance Years 2009 to 2011

Apache Corporation

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

BG Group PLC

CNOOC Limited

Inpex Corporation

Marathon Oil Company

Murphy Oil Corporation

Pioneer Natural Resources Company

Repsol YPF, S.A.

Santos Ltd

Talisman Energy Inc

Table 16 – STA Peer Group and LTA Peer Group Performance Years 2012 to 2015 –  
International Oil and Gas Companies

Apache Corporation

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

BG Group PLC

ConocoPhillips

ENI S.p.A

Hess Corporation

Inpex Corporation

Marathon Oil Company

Murphy Oil Corporation

Oil Search Limited

Origin Energy Limited

Pioneer Natural Resources Company

Repsol YPF, S.A

Santos Ltd

Statoil ASA

Talisman Energy Inc

Tullow Oil PLC

63

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCETable 17 and Table 18 summarise the terms and conditions of the equity instruments granted under the LTA and STA for  
Performance Years 2010 to 2015.

Table 17 – Summary of LTA Terms for Performance Years 2010 to 2015

Terms and 
conditions

Allocation date

2015 VPR 
award

19 February 
2016

2014 VPR 
award

20 February 
2015

2013 VPR 
award

21 February 
2014

Pricing date

1 January 2015

1 January 2014

1 January 2013

Grant date

1 January 2015

1 January 2014

1 January 2013

2012 VPR 
award 

22 February 
2013

7 December 
2012

1 January  
2012

2011 VPR 
award

1 March  
2012

2010 VPR 
award

25 February  
2011

31 December 
2011

31 December 
2010

1 January  
2011

1 January  
2010

Allocation price1

A$21.22

A$19.51

A$20.00

A$19.65

A$31.93

A$42.78

Vesting date2

Re-testing date 

19 February 
2020

19 February 
20213

20 February 
2019

20 February 
20203

21 February 
2018

21 February 
20193

22 February 
2017

22 February 
20183

1 March  
2015

1 March  
20164

25 February  
2014

25 February  
20154

% Vesting 

-

-

-

-

78%

60%

1.  For allocations made for the years prior to 2012, the allocation price was determined by calculating the Volume Weighted Average Price of Woodside shares for the trading days in the month of 

December of the respective Performance Year. For subsequent allocations, the allocation price is the fair value of a Variable Pay Right as at the Pricing Date.

2.  Provision is made for accelerated vesting in certain events such as total and permanent disability, death or a change in control of Woodside.

3.  Any VPRs that do not vest as a result of the first test will be re-tested over a five-year performance period. 

4.  Re-testing is applied to the RTSR-tested VPRs if the RTSR threshold is not achieved at the Vesting Date.

Table 18 – Summary of deferred STA Terms for Performance Years 2011 to 2015 

Terms and 
conditions

2015  
award

2014  
award

2013  
award

2012  
award

2011  
award

Deferral instrument

Restricted Shares

Restricted Shares

Restricted Shares

Restricted Shares

Time-tested VPRs

Allocation date

19 February 2016

20 February 2015

21 February 2014

22 February 2013

1 March 2012

Pricing date

Grant date

Volume weighted 
average price

31 December 2015

31 December 2014

31 December 2013

31 December 2012

31 December 2011

1 January 2015

1 January 2014

1 January 2013

1 January 2012

1 January 2011

A$27.90

A$36.09

A$37.90

A$34.09

A$31.93

Vesting date1

19 February 2019

20 February 2018

21 February 2017

22 February 2016

1 March 2015

1.  Provision is made for accelerated vesting in certain events such as total and permanent disability, death or a change in control of Woodside.

Table 19 and Table 20 summarise the interests of executive KMP in deferred STA that were granted as VPRs  
(for the 2009 to 2011 Performance Years) and Restricted Shares (for the 2012 to 2015 Performance Years). 

Table 19 – Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Time-tested VPRs1 

Name

Allocation  
date

Vesting  
date2

P Coleman

March 2012

March 2015

M Abbott

S Gregory 

R Matisons

L Tremaine

March 2012

March 2015

March 2012

March 2015

March 2012

March 2015

March 2012

March 2015

Awarded 
but not 
vested

Vested in 
2015

% of total 
vested

Lapsed in 
2015

Fair value3 of VPRs by 
performance year

14,791

1,516

2,024

2,548

4,470

100

100

100

100

100

38.87

38.87

38.87

38.87

38.87

1.  For valuation purposes all VPRs are treated as if they will be equity settled. 

2.  Vesting date and exercise date are the same. Vesting is subject to a three-year service condition. No amount is payable by the executives on the grant or vesting of Variable Pay Rights.  

The minimum total value of the grants for future financial years is nil if relevant vesting conditions are not satisfied. An estimate of the maximum possible total value in future financial years  
is the fair value as shown above multiplied by the number of VPRs awarded.

3.  In accordance with the requirements of AASB 2 Share-based Payment, the fair value of rights as at their date of grant has been determined by applying the Binomial or Black Scholes option  

pricing technique. The fair value of rights is amortised over the vesting period, such that ‘total remuneration’ includes a portion of the fair value of unvested equity compensation during the year. 
The amount included as remuneration is not related to or indicative of the benefit (if any) that individual executives may ultimately realise should these equity instruments vest.

64

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 20 - Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Restricted Shares 

Allocation  
date

Vesting  
date1

Awarded 
but not 
vested

Vested in 
2015

% of total 
vested

Lapsed in 
2015

Value of Restricted 
Shares by 
performance year

Name

P Coleman

February 2013

February 2016

33,720

February 2014

February 2017

19,924

February 2015

February 2018

45,334

February 2016

February 2019

47,905

M Abbott2

February 2016

February 2019

R Edwardes

February 2013

February 2016

February 2014

February 2017

February 2015

February 2018

4,788

4,710

5,075

9,717

February 2016

February 2019

10,507

February 2014

February 2017

S Gregory3

February 2015

February 2018

February 2016

February 2019

February 2014

February 2017

P Loader

February 2015

February 2018

February 2016

February 2019

R Matisons4

February 2016

February 2019

D McLoughlin

February 2016

February 2019

February 2013

February 2016

February 2014

February 2017

February 2015

February 2018

February 2016

February 2019

February 2013

February 2016

February 2014

February 2017

G Roder

L Tremaine

2,566

5,198

6,218

1,450

7,445

8,051

5,541

4,239

3,829

4,603

8,728

7,078

6,933

4,249

February 2015

February 2018

10,393

February 2016

February 2019

February 2014

February 2017

M Utsler

February 2015

February 2018

February 2016

February 2019

9,887

322

12,228

10,876

30.98

35.18

34.80

31.15

31.15

30.98

35.18

34.80

31.15

35.18

34.80

31.15

35.18

34.80

31.15

31.15

31.15

30.98

35.18

34.80

31.15

30.98

35.18

34.80

31.15

35.18

34.80

31.15

1.  Vesting date and exercise date are the same. Vesting is subject to satisfaction of vesting conditions. The minimum total value of the grants for future financial years is nil if relevant vesting 
conditions are not satisfied. An estimate of the maximum possible total value in future financial years is the fair value at grant date multiplied by the number of Restricted Shares awarded.

2.  Mr Abbott did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2015. Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

3.  Mr Gregory did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2013. Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

4.  Mr Matisons did not meet the definition of KMP under AASB 124 for years prior to 2015. Previous years comparative figures are not shown.

65

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 21 – Summary of executives KMPs’ interests in RTSR-tested VPRs1

The following table summarises the interests of executive KMP in RTSR-tested VPRs that were granted as LTA for the 2010 to 2015 
Performance Years. 

Name

Allocation 
date

Vesting 
date2,3

Awarded but 
not vested

Vested in 
2015

% of total 
vested

Lapsed in 
2015

Fair value4  
of VPRs

March 2012

March 2015

51,769

40,380

78

11,389

February 2013 February 2018

150,665

P Coleman

February 2014 February 2019

156,940

February 2015 February 2020

167,316

February 2016 February 2021

153,833

February 2011 February 2015

M Abbott5

March 2012

March 2015

R Edwardes

February 2016 February 2021

February 2013 February 2018

February 2014 February 2019

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

February 2011 February 2015

March 2012

March 2015

S Gregory6

February 2014 February 2019

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

February 2014 February 2019

P Loader 

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

February 2011 February 2015

R Matisons5

March 2012

March 2015

1,799

2,549

9,425

11,923

19,780

21,078

19,379

1,239

2,721

10,000

11,276

10,367

7,536

16,150

14,849

3,029

4,284

February 2016 February 2021

10,688

D McLoughlin

February 2016 February 2021

G Roder

L Tremaine

February 2013 February 2018

February 2014 February 2019

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

February 2011 February 2015

March 2012

March 2015

February 2013 February 2018

February 2014 February 2019

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

February 2014 February 2019

M Utsler

February 2015 February 2020

February 2016 February 2021

1.  For valuation purposes all VPRs are treated as if they will be equity settled.

7,068

5,774

17,940

18,932

17,407

4,207

7,564

14,631

16,560

18,036

16,583

1,676

21,219

19,509

1,079

1,988

743

2,122

1,817

3,342

2,524

5,900

60

78

60

78

60

78

60

78

720

561

496

599

1,212

942

1,683

1,664

21.36

15.90

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.02

21.36

17.39

15.90

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.02

21.36

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.02

21.36

17.39

17.39

15.90

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.02

21.36

15.90

20.77

17.45

17.39

20.77

17.45

17.39

2.  Vesting date and exercise date are the same. Vesting is subject to satisfaction of vesting conditions. The minimum total value of the grants for future financial years is nil if relevant vesting 

conditions are not satisfied. An estimate of the maximum possible total value in future financial years is the fair value at grant date multiplied by the number of VPRs awarded.

3.  Vesting date is 25 February 2014 or 25 February 2015 in respect of February 2011 allocations and 1 March 2015 or 1 March 2016 in respect of March 2012 allocations. Vesting date is  
22 February 2017 or 22 February 2018 in respect of February 2013 allocations, 21 February 2018 or 21 February 2019 in respect of February 2014 allocations and 20 February 2019 or  
20 February 2020 in respect of the February 2015 allocations. Vesting date is 19 February 2020 or 19 February 2021 in respect to the February 2016 allocations.

4.  In accordance with the requirements of AASB 2 Share-based Payment, the fair value of rights as at their date of grant has been determined by applying the Binomial or Black Scholes option pricing 

technique. The fair value of rights is amortised over the vesting period, such that ‘total remuneration’ includes a portion of the fair value of unvested equity compensation during the year.  
The amount included as remuneration is not related to or indicative of the benefit (if any) that individual executives may ultimately realise should these equity instruments vest.

5.  Mr Abbott and Mr Matisons did not meet the definition of KMP for the years prior to 2015. Comparative figures are not shown.

6.  Mr Gregory did not meet the definition of KMP for the years prior to 2013. Comparative figures are not shown.

66

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 22 and Table 23 summarise the interests of executive KMP in Equity Rights granted under the WEP and SWEP, respectively. 

Table 22 – Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Equity Rights under the WEP

Name

M Abbott2

S Gregory

R Matisons2

Grant date

1 October 2012

1 October 2015

1 October 2012

1 October 2013

1 October 2014

1 October 2015

1 October 2012

1 October 2015

D McLoughlin

1 October 2015

L Tremaine

1 October 2012

1 October 2013

1 October 2014

1 October 2015

Number of Equity 
Rights granted

Number of Equity 
Rights which have 
lapsed/forfeited

Number of Equity 
Rights which have 
vested during 2015

Fair Value of  
Equity Rights1

1,500

2,300

2,000

3,100

2,300

2,300

1,500

2,300

2,300

2,000

3,100

2,300

2,300

1,500

2,000

1,500

2,000

31.99

 18.07

31.99

30.47

31.26

18.07 

31.99

 18.07

 18.07

31.99

30.47

31.26

18.07 

1.  The fair value of Equity Rights as at their date of grant has been determined by reference to the share price at acquisition. The fair value of Equity Rights is amortised over the vesting period,  

such that ‘total remuneration’ includes a portion of the fair value of unvested equity compensation during the year. The amount included as remuneration is not related to or indicative of the benefit 
(if any) that individual executives may ultimately realise should these equity instruments vest. The minimum total value in future financial years is nil if relevant vesting conditions are not satisfied.  
An estimate of the maximum possible total value in future financial years is the fair value as shown above multiplied by the number of Equity Rights awarded.

2.  Mr Abbott and Mr Matisons did not meet the definition of KMP for the years prior to 2015. Comparative figures are not shown. 

Table 23 – Summary of executive KMPs’ interests in Equity Rights under the SWEP

Name

P Loader

L Tremaine

M Utsler

Grant date

1 October 2014

1 October 2014

1 October 2014

Number of Equity 
Rights granted

Number of Equity 
Rights which have 
lapsed/forfeited

Number of Equity 
Rights which have 
vested during 2015

Fair Value of  
Equity Rights1

11,960

11,960

14,350

31.26

31.26

31.26

1.  The fair value of Equity Rights as at their date of grant has been determined by reference to the share price at acquisition. The fair value of Equity Rights is amortised over the vesting period,  

such that ‘total remuneration’ includes a portion of the fair value of unvested equity compensation during the year. The amount included as remuneration is not related to or indicative of the benefit 
(if any) that individual executives may ultimately realise should these equity instruments vest. The minimum total value in future financial years is nil if relevant vesting conditions are not satisfied.  
An estimate of the maximum possible total value in future financial years is the fair value as shown above multiplied by the number of Equity Rights awarded.

67

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 24 – Total remuneration paid to non-executive directors in 2015 and 2014 

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the components of remuneration for each of the company’s  
non-executive directors.

Non-executive 
director

M Chaney

M Cilento

F Cooper

C Haynes

A Jamieson

D McEvoy

S Ryan

G Tilbrook

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

Short-term

Post employment

Cash salary and fees

Pension super

Salaries, fees and allowances

Company contributions to 
superannuation

$

543,228

632,197

195,346

231,062

219,604

265,694

217,358

256,820

233,393

275,752

236,848

255,854

198,500

234,803

198,500

16,685

$

51,607

59,294

18,558

21,666

20,862

18,440

23,991

18,858

22,017

15,176

1,275

Total

$

594,835

691,491

213,904 

252,728

240,466 

284,134

217,358 

256,820

233,393 

275,752

236,848 

279,845

217,358 

256,820

213,676

17,960

68

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Table 25 – KMP shareholdings 

Details of shares held by KMP (including their personally related entities1) for the 2015 financial year are as follows:

Name

Opening 
holding2

NEDSP3

Equity Rights 
vested

Restricted 
Shares granted

Net change – 
other

Closing 
holding

Non-executive directors

2015

1,344

1,224

1,318

1,170

M Chaney

M Cilento

F Cooper

C Haynes

A Jamieson 

D McEvoy

S Ryan

G Tilbrook

Executives
P Coleman
M Abbott4
R Edwardes 

S Gregory 

P Loader
R Matisons5
D McLoughlin6
G Roder

L Tremaine

M Utsler

20,000

2,086

1,960

3,399

6,460

8,040

1,875

7,153

108,648

10,328

5,921

1,450

8,432

22,353

322

20,000

2,086

3,304

4,623

7,778

8,040

3,045

7,153

209,153
10,948

20,045

18,008

8,895
20,760

158

17,160

47,640

12,550

55,171
6,083

6,889

9,207

14,894

45,334
4,287

9,717

5,198

7,445
5,324

158

8,728

10,393

12,228

578

6,229

1.  Personally related entities include a KMP's spouse, dependants or entities over which they have direct control or significant influence.

2.  Opening holding represents amounts carried forward in respect of KMP.

3.  Related to participation in the Non-executive Directors' Share Plan (NEDSP).

4.  Mr Abbott was appointed to KMP on 1 January 2015.

5.  Mr Matisons was appointed to KMP on 1 January 2015.

6.  Mr McLoughlin was appointed to KMP on 22 January 2015.

Table 26 - Executive KMPs’ interests in Variable Pay Rights (VPR) and Equity Rights (ER) 

The following table summarises the movements in the interests of KMP in VPRs and ERs during the 2015 financial year.

Name

Executives
P Coleman
M Abbott1
R Edwardes 

S Gregory 

P Loader
R Matisons2
D McLoughlin3
G Roder

L Tremaine
M Utsler3

At  
1 January 2015

Allocated in  
2015

374,165

31,703

28,031

19,496

23,714

66,792

16,026

167,316

9,496

21,078

13,576

16,150
13,849

2,658

18,932

20,336

21,219

1.  Mr Abbott was appointed to KMP on 1 January 2015.

2.  Mr Matisons was appointed to KMP on 1 January 2015.

3.  Mr McLoughlin was appointed to KMP on 22 January 2015.

Net change – 
other

At 31 December 
2015

2015

Vested in  
2015

(55,171)

(6,083)

(6,889)

(9,207)

(11,389)

22,097

(1,095)

33,006

(14,894)

(3,347)

474,921

25,510

52,781

33,623

35,646
37,648

2,658

42,646

68,887

37,245

69

GOVERNANCEWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD GOVERNANCEDIRECTORS’ REPORT

Indemnification and insurance of 
directors and officers
The company’s constitution requires the 
company to indemnify each director, 
secretary, executive officer or employee 
of the company or its wholly owned 
subsidiaries against liabilities (to the 
extent the company is not precluded by 
law from doing so) incurred in or arising 
out of the conduct of the business of the 
company or the discharge of the duties 
of any such person. The company has 
entered into deeds of indemnity with each 
of its directors, secretaries, certain senior 
executives, and employees serving as 
officers on wholly owned or partly owned 
companies of Woodside in terms of the 
indemnity provided under the company’s 
constitution.

From time to time, Woodside engages its 
external auditor, Ernst & Young, to conduct 
non-statutory audit work and provide other 
services in accordance with Woodside’s 
External Auditor Guidelines. The terms of 
engagement include an indemnity in favour 
of Ernst & Young:

ƒƒ against all losses, claims, costs, 

expenses, actions, demands, damages, 
liabilities or any proceedings (liabilities) 
incurred by Ernst & Young in respect of 
third party claims arising from a breach 
by the Group under the engagement 
terms; and

ƒƒ for all liabilities Ernst & Young has to 

the Group or any third party as a result 
of reliance on information provided by 
the Group that is false, misleading or 
incomplete.

The company has paid a premium under 
a contract insuring each director, officer, 
secretary and employee who is concerned 
with the management of the company or 
its subsidiaries against liability incurred in 
that capacity. Disclosure of the nature of 
the liability covered by and the amount of 
the premium payable for such insurance is 
subject to a confidentiality clause under the 
contract of insurance. The company has 
not provided any insurance for the external 
auditor of the company or a body corporate 
related to the external auditor.

Non-audit services and auditor 
independence declaration

Details of the amounts paid or payable to 
the external auditor of the company, Ernst 
& Young, for audit and non-audit services 
provided during the year are disclosed in 
note E.5 to the Financial Report.

Based on advice provided by the Audit & 
Risk Committee, the directors are satisfied 
that the provision of non-audit services 

70

by the external auditor during the financial 
year is compatible with the general 
standard of independence for auditors 
imposed by the Corporations Act for the 
following reasons:

ƒƒ all non-audit services were provided in 
accordance with Woodside’s External 
Auditor Policy and External Auditor 
Guidelines; and

ƒƒ all non-audit services were subject to 
the corporate governance processes 
adopted by the company and have been 
reviewed by the Audit & Risk Committee 
to ensure that they do not affect the 
integrity or objectivity of the auditor. 

Signed in accordance with a resolution of 
the directors.

M A Chaney, AO
Chairman

Perth, Western Australia
17 February 2016

Further information on Woodside’s policy 
in relation to the provision of non-audit 
services by the auditor is set out in  
section 7 of the Corporate Governance 
Statement.

P J Coleman
Chief Executive Officer and 
Managing Director

Perth, Western Australia
17 February 2016

Auditor’s Independence Declaration 
to the directors of Woodside 
Petroleum Ltd

As lead auditor for the audit of Woodside 
Petroleum Ltd for the financial year ended 
31 December 2015, I declare to the best of 
my knowledge and belief, there have been:

a)  no contraventions of the auditor 

independence requirements of the 
Corporations Act 2001 in relation to the 
audit; and

b)  no contraventions of any applicable 

code of professional conduct in relation 
to the audit.

This declaration is in respect of Woodside 
Petroleum Ltd and the entities it controlled 
during the financial year.

Ernst & Young

R J Curtin
Partner

Perth, Western Australia
17 February 2016

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional 
Standards Legislation.

The auditor independence declaration, 
as required under section 307C of the 
Corporations Act, is set out on this page 
and forms part of this report.

Proceedings on behalf of  
the company

No proceedings have been brought 
on behalf of the company, nor has any 
application been made in respect of 
the company, under section 237 of the 
Corporations Act.

Rounding of amounts

The amounts contained in this report 
have been rounded to the nearest million 
dollars under the option available to the 
company under Australian Securities and 
Investments Commission Class Order 
98/100 dated 1 July 1998.

Directors’ relevant interests in 
Woodside shares as at date of report

Director 

M A Chaney 

M A Cilento 

P J Coleman1,2 

F Cooper 

C M Haynes 

A Jamieson 

D I McEvoy 

S E Ryan 

G T Tilbrook 

Relevant interest 
in shares

20,000

2,086

209,153

3,304

4,623

7,778

8,040

3,045

7,153

1. Mr Coleman holds variable pay rights under his CEO 

incentive arrangements, details of which are set out in the 
Remuneration Report on page 59.

2. Mr Coleman will be allocated restricted shares and variable 

pay rights under his CEO incentive arrangements on  
19 February 2016, as set out in the Remuneration Report 
on page 59. 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015FINANCIAL 
REPORT 2015  

WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT

71

FINANCIAL REPORTCONTENTS

Financial 
statements

Notes to the 
financial 
statements

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Consolidated statement of financial position

Consolidated statement of cash flows

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

About this report

Page 73

Page 74

Page 75

Page 76

Page 77

Page 78

A.  Earnings for the year

B.  Production and growth assets

B.1   Segment production and 

Page 85 

A.1  Segment revenue and expenses

A.2  Dividends paid and proposed

A.3  Earnings per share

A.4  Taxes

Page 80

Page 82

Page 82

Page 82

growth assets 

B.2  Exploration and evaluation 

B.3  Oil and gas properties

B.4   Impairment of oil and gas 

properties

B.5   Significant production and 
growth asset acquisitions

C.  Debt and capital

D.  Other assets and liabilities

C.1  Cash and cash equivalents 

C.2  Interest-bearing liabilities 

C.3  Financing facilities

C.4  Contributed equity

C.5  Other reserves

E.  Other items

E.1  Contingent liabilities and assets

E.2  Leases 

E.3  Employee benefits

E.4  Related party transactions

E.5  Auditor remuneration

E.6   Events after the end of the 

reporting period

Page 91

Page 91

Page 91

Page 92

Page 92

Page 98

Page 98

Page 98

Page 100

Page 100

Page 100

D.1  Receivables

D.2  Inventories

D.3  Payables

D.4  Provisions 

D.5  Segment assets and liabilities

D.6  Disposal group held for sale

E.7  Joint arrangements

E.8  Parent entity information

E.9   Subsidiaries

E.10 Other accounting policies 

Other

Directors’ declaration

Independent audit report

Page 86

Page 87

Page 88

Page 89

Page 94

Page 94

Page 94

Page 95

Page 96

Page 96

Page 100

Page 101

Page 102

Page 104

Page 105

Page 106

Significant changes in the current reporting period
The financial performance and position of the Group was particularly affected by the following events and transactions during the 
reporting period:

ƒƒ The purchase of interests in Wheatstone and Balnaves oil in Australia on 2 April 2015, for total cash consideration of US$2,817 million 

and the purchase of interests in Kitimat LNG project in Canada on 10 April 2015, for total cash consideration of US$854 million. 
For more detail, refer to Note B.5. 

ƒƒ The decline in forecast oil prices resulted in an impairment loss of US$1,178 million. For more detail, refer to Note B.4. 

ƒƒ In September 2015, management committed to a plan and signed a conditional agreement to sell the Group’s interests in the 

Laminaria-Corallina joint operation. The transaction has resulted in the assets and liabilities of the joint operation being reclassified as 
assets and liabilities held for sale and an impairment reversal of US$95 million being recognised. For more detail, refer to Notes B.4 
and D.6. 

ƒƒ Refinancing of the Group’s debt facilities. For more detail, refer to Note C.3.

72

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

Operating revenue 

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Other income 

Other expenses

Profit before tax and net finance costs

Finance income

Finance costs

Profit before tax

Petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT) (expense)/benefit

Income tax expense

Profit after tax

Profit attributable to:

   Equity holders of the parent

   Non-controlling interest

Profit for the year

Basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the parent (US cents)

The accompanying notes form part of the financial report. 

Notes

A.1

A.1

A.1

A.1

A.4

A.4

E.9

A.3

2015
US$m

5,030 

(3,073)

1,957 

37 

(1,553)

441 

4 

(89)

356 

(131)

(112)

113 

26 

87 

113 

3.2 

2014
US$m

7,435 

(2,883)

4,552 

31 

(911)

3,672 

15 

(178)

3,509 

88 

(1,081)

2,516 

2,414 

102 

2,516 

293.4 

73

FINANCIAL REPORTWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income

Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods:

Loss on available-for-sale financial assets reclassified to profit or loss

Translation loss reclassified to profit or loss

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss in subsequent periods:

Remeasurement gains/(losses) on defined benefit plan

Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Equity holders of the parent

Non-controlling interest

Total comprehensive income for the year

The accompanying notes form part of the financial report.

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

113 

2,516 

14 

3 

12 

29 

142 

55 

87 

142 

-

-

(6)

(6)

2,510 

2,408 

102 

2,510 

74

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 
as at 31 December 2015

Notes

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Receivables

Inventories

Tax receivable

Other assets

Disposal group held for sale

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Receivables

Inventories

Other financial assets 

Other assets

Exploration and evaluation assets

Oil and gas properties

Other plant and equipment 

Deferred tax assets

Total non-current assets

Total assets

Current liabilities

Payables

Interest-bearing liabilities 

Tax payable

Other financial liabilities 

Other liabilities

Provisions 

Liabilities associated with disposal group held for sale

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Interest-bearing liabilities 

Deferred tax liabilities

Other financial liabilities 

Other liabilities

Provisions

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Net assets

Equity 

Issued and fully paid shares

Shares reserved for employee share plans

Other reserves

Retained earnings

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 

Non-controlling interest

Total equity 

The accompanying notes form part of the financial report.

C.1

D.1

D.2

A.4

D.6

D.1

D.2

B.2

B.3

A.4

D.3

C.2

A.4

D.4

D.6

C.2

A.4

D.4

C.4

C.4

C.5

E.9

122 

489 

170 

106 

47 

145 

3,268 

478 

247 

-

49 

-

1,079 

4,042 

93 

19 

30 

8 

2,528 

19,236 

76 

770 

22,760 

23,839 

813 

77 

-

1 

42 

215 

156 

63 

12 

30 

2 

1,268 

17,534 

79 

1,052 

20,040 

24,082 

605 

629 

440 

2 

76 

189 

-

1,304 

1,941 

4,364 

1,390 

11 

92 

1,653 

7,510 

8,814 

1,957 

1,637 

10 

123 

1,755 

5,482 

7,423 

15,025 

16,659 

6,547 

(27)

963 

6,743 

14,226 

799 

15,025 

6,547 

(38)

920 

8,447 

15,876 

783 

16,659 

75

FINANCIAL REPORTWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

Cash flows from operating activities

Profit after tax for the period

Adjustments for:

Non-cash items

Depreciation and amortisation 

Impairment of oil and gas properties

Loss on disposal of exploration and evaluation assets

(Gain)/loss on disposal of oil and gas properties

Loss on disposal of investment

Change in fair value of derivative financial instruments

Net finance costs

Tax expense

Exploration and evaluation written off

Other

Changes in assets and liabilities

(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables

Decrease/(increase) in inventories

Increase/(decrease) in provisions

(Increase)/decrease in other assets and liabilities

Increase in trade and other payables

Cash generated from operations

Purchases of shares and payments relating to employee share plans

Interest received

Dividends received

Interest paid

Income tax paid 

PRRT paid

Payments for restoration 

Payments for carbon tax 

Net cash from operating activities

Cash flows from/(used in) investing activities

Payments for capital and exploration expenditure

Proceeds from disposal of exploration and evaluation assets

Proceeds from disposal of oil and gas properties

Payments for acquisition of joint arrangements net of cash acquired

B.5

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from/(used in) financing activities

Proceeds from/(repayments of) borrowings

Contributions to non-controlling interests

Dividends paid

Net cash used in financing activities

Net (decrease)/increase in cash held

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

Effects of exchange rate changes 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

C.1

The accompanying notes form part of the financial report.

76

Notes

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

113 

2,516 

1,539 

1,083 

1,462 

434 

2 

(3)

14 

1 

85 

243 

131 

(28)

(28)

67 

79 

(30)

55 

3,323 

(45)

5 

8 

(119)

(768)

(10)

(16)

(2)

13 

13 

-

-

163 

993 

5 

68 

33 

(65)

(18)

21 

69 

5,707 

(55)

14 

6 

(163)

(550)

(95)

(27)

(52)

2,376 

4,785 

(1,819)

-

-

(3,637)

(5,456)

1,834 

(162)

(1,730)

(58)

(3,138)

3,268 

(8)

122 

(697)

35 

45 

-

(617)

(1,184)

(182)

(1,753)

(3,119)

1,049 

2,223 

(4)

3,268 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

y

l
l

u
f

d
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a

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e
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s
I

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S

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s

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fi
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F

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I

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a
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e
R

i

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a
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f
o

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d
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y
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i
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q
E

t
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r
a
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c
-
n
o
N

t
s
e
r
e
t
n

i

y
t
i
u
q
e

l

a
t
o
T

Notes

At 1 January 2015

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income 

Total comprehensive income for the year

Employee share plan purchases

Employee share plan redemptions

Share-based payments

Dividends paid 

At 31 December 2015

At 1 January 2014

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income 

Total comprehensive income for the year

Employee share plan purchases

Employee share plan redemptions 

Share-based payments

Dividends paid 

At 31 December 2014

C.4

C.5
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m

C.4

C.5

C.5

E.9

6,547 

(38)

161 

773 

(14)

8,447 

15,876 

783 

16,659 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(45)

56 

-

-

-

12 

12 

-

(56)

70 

-

-

3 

3 

-

-

-

-

6,547 

(27)

187 

776 

-

14 

14 

-

-

-

-

-

26 

-

26 

-

-

-

26 

29 

55 

(45)

-

70 

87 

-

87 

-

-

-

113 

29 

142 

(45)

-

70 

(1,730)

(1,730)

(71)

(1,801)

6,743 

14,226 

799 

15,025 

6,547 

(42)

164 

773 

(14)

7,797 

15,225 

733 

15,958 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(55)

59 

-

-

6,547 

(38)

-

(6)

(6)

-

(59)

62 

-

161 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2,414 

2,414 

102 

2,516 

-

(6)

-

(6)

2,414 

2,408 

102 

2,510 

-

-

-

(55)

-

62 

-

-

-

(55)

-

62 

(1,764)

(1,764)

(52)

(1,816)

773 

(14)

8,447 

15,876 

783 

16,659 

The accompanying notes form part of the financial report.

77

FINANCIAL REPORTWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

About this report
Woodside Petroleum Ltd (Woodside or the Group) is a for-profit 
entity limited by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Its 
shares are publicly traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. 
The nature of the operations and principal activities of the 
Group are described in the directors’ report and in the segment 
information in Note A.1.

The financial report was authorised for issue in accordance with a 
resolution of the directors on 17 February 2016. 

Statement of compliance 
The financial report is a general purpose financial report, which 
has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 
Corporations Act 2001, Australian Accounting Standards (AASBs) 
and other authoritative pronouncements of the Australian 
Accounting Standards Board. The financial report complies with 
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the 
International Accounting Standards Board. 

The accounting policies are consistent with those disclosed in the 
Financial Report 2014, except for the impact of all new or amended 
standards and interpretations. The adoption of these standards 
and interpretations did not result in any significant changes to the 
Group’s accounting policies.

Currency
The functional and presentation currency of Woodside Petroleum Ltd 
and all its subsidiaries is US dollars.

Transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded in the 
functional currency of the transacting entity at the exchange rates 
ruling at the date of transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities 
denominated in foreign currencies at the reporting date are 
translated at the rates of exchange ruling at that date. Exchange 
differences in the consolidated financial statements are taken to 
the income statement. 

Rounding of amounts
The amounts contained in this report have been rounded to the 
nearest million dollars under the option available to the Group under 
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Class 
Order 98/0100 dated 10 July 1998, unless otherwise stated.

Basis of preparation
The financial report has been prepared on a historical cost basis, 
except for derivative financial instruments and certain other 
financial assets and financial liabilities, which have been measured 
at fair value.

The financial report comprises the financial statements of the 
Group and its subsidiaries as at 31 December each year  
(refer to Section E). Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from  
the date on which control is obtained by the Group and cease  
to be consolidated from the date at which the Group ceases to  
have control.

The financial statements of subsidiaries are prepared for the 
same reporting period as the parent company, using consistent 
accounting policies. All intercompany balances and transactions, 
including unrealised profits and losses arising from intra-group 
transactions, have been eliminated in full.

Non-controlling interests are allocated their share of the net profit 
after tax in the consolidated income statement, their share of other 
comprehensive income, net of tax in the consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income and are presented within equity in the 
consolidated statement of financial position, separately from parent 
shareholders’ equity.

78

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Key estimates and judgements
In applying the Group’s accounting policies, management 
continually evaluates judgements, estimates and assumptions 
based on experience and other factors, including expectations 
of future events that may have an impact on the Group.  
All judgements, estimates and assumptions made are 
believed to be reasonable based on the most current set of 
circumstances known to management. Actual results may 
differ from those judgements, estimates and assumptions. 
Significant judgements, estimates and assumptions made by 
management in the preparation of these financial statements 
are found in the following notes:

Note A.4

Note B.2

Note B.3

Note B.4

Note D.4

Note E.7

Taxes

Exploration and evaluation

Oil and gas properties

Page 83

Page 86

Page 87 

Impairment of oil and gas properties Page 88

Provisions

Joint arrangements

Page 95

Page 101

Financial and capital risk management
The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the 
establishment and oversight of the Group’s risk management 
framework, including review and the approval of the Group’s 
risk management strategy, policy and key risk parameters. 
The Board of Directors and the Audit & Risk Committee have 
oversight of the Group’s internal control system and risk 
management process, including the oversight of the internal 
audit function.

The Group’s management of financial and capital risks is 
aimed at ensuring that available capital, funding and cash 
flows are sufficient to:
 ƒ meet the Group’s financial commitments as and when  

they fall due;

 ƒ maintain the capacity to fund its committed project 

developments;

 ƒ pay a reasonable dividend; and
 ƒ maintain a long-term credit rating of not less than 

‘investment grade’.

The Group monitors and tests its forecast financial position 
against these criteria and, in general, will undertake hedging 
activity only when necessary to ensure that these objectives 
are achieved. Other circumstances that may lead to hedging 
activities include the management of exposures relating 
to trading activities, the purchase of reserves and the 
underpinning of the economics of a new project. It is, and 
has been throughout the period, the Group Treasury policy 
that no speculative trading in financial instruments shall be 
undertaken. Refer to the risk section of the operating and 
financial review on page 20 for more information on the 
Group’s objectives, policies and processes for managing 
financial risk.

 The below risks arise in the normal course of the Group’s 
business. Risk information can be found in the following 
sections:

Section A

Section A

Section C

Section C

Section C

Commodity risk 

Foreign exchange risk

Capital risk 

Liquidity risk

Interest rate risk

Section D

Credit risk

Page 79

Page 79

Page 90

Page 90

Page 90

Page 93

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015In this section

This section addresses financial performance of the Group for the reporting period including, where applicable, 
the accounting policies applied and the key estimates and judgements made. The section also includes the tax 
position of the Group for and at the end of the reporting period.

A.  Earnings for the year

A.1  Segment revenue and expenses

A.2  Dividends paid and proposed

A.3  Earnings per share

A.4  Taxes

Page 80

Page 82

Page 82

Page 82

Key financial and capital risks in this section

Commodity price risk management
The Group’s revenue is exposed to commodity price fluctuations, in particular oil and gas prices are measured by 
monitoring and stress testing the Group’s forecast financial position to sustained periods of low oil and gas prices. 
This analysis is regularly performed on the Group’s portfolio and, as required, for discrete projects and acquisitions.

As at reporting date, the Group had no financial instruments with material exposure to commodity price risk. 

Foreign exchange risk management
Foreign exchange risk arises from future commitments, financial assets and financial liabilities that are not 
denominated in US dollars. The majority of the operations’ revenue is denominated in US dollars. The Group is 
exposed to foreign currency risk arising from operating and capital expenditure incurred in currencies other than  
US dollars, particularly Australian dollars.

Measuring the exposure to foreign exchange risk is achieved by regularly monitoring and performing sensitivity 
analysis on the Group’s financial position. 

A reasonably possible change in the exchange rate of the US dollar to the Australian dollar (+10%/-10%), with all 
other variables held constant, would not have a material impact on the Group’s equity or the profit or loss in the 
current period.  Refer to Notes C.1, C.2, D.1 and D.3 for detail of the denomination of cash and cash equivalents, 
interest-bearing liabilities, receivables and payables held at 31 December 2015.

Currently, there are no foreign exchange hedge programs in place. Foreign currency is purchased periodically to 
meet operational requirements.

79

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A: Earnings for the year for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTA.1  Segment revenue and expenses
Operating segment information
The Group has identified its operating segments based on the 
internal reports that are reviewed and used by the executive 
management team in assessing performance and in determining 
the allocation of resources. 

Management monitors the operating results of the Business Units 
separately for the purpose of making decisions about resource 
allocation and performance assessment. The performance of 
operating segments is evaluated based on profit before tax and 
net finance costs and is measured in accordance with the Group’s 
accounting policies.

Financing requirements, including cash and debt balances, finance 
income, finance costs and taxes are managed at a Group level.

Operating segments outlined below are identified by management 
based on the nature and geographical location of the business 
or venture.

Producing
North West Shelf Project – Exploration, evaluation, 
development, production and sale of liquefied natural gas, 
pipeline natural gas, condensate, liquefied petroleum gas and 
crude oil from the North West Shelf ventures.

Pluto LNG – Exploration, evaluation, development, production 
and sale of liquefied natural gas and condensate in assigned 
permit areas. 

Australia Oil – Exploration, evaluation, development, 
production and sale of crude oil in assigned permit areas 
(Laminaria, Enfield, Vincent, Stybarrow and Balnaves).

Development
Browse FLNG – Exploration, evaluation and development of 
liquefied natural gas and condensate in the Browse area.

Wheatstone LNG – Exploration, evaluation and development 
of liquefied natural gas and condensate. This is a new segment 
due to the acquisition in the year. 

Other
Other segments – This segment comprises the activities 
undertaken by Trading and Shipping, United States, 
Exploration, International, Canada and Sunrise Business Units.

Unallocated items – Unallocated items comprise primarily 
corporate non-segmental items of revenue and expenses 
and associated assets and liabilities not allocated to operating 
segments as they are not considered part of the core 
operations of any segment.

Major customer information
The Group has two major customers which account for 18% and 
16% of the Group’s external revenue respectively. The sales are 
generated by the Pluto and North West Shelf Business Units  
(2014: two customers; 19% and 14%).

Geographical information

Revenue from external 
customers1

Non-current assets2

2015
US$m

532 

4,207 

77 

-

214 

2014
US$m

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

586 

20,763 

18,957 

6,705 

103 

-

41 

32 

-

1,171 

24 

11 

-

-

20 

Australia

Asia

USA

Canada

Other

Consolidated

5,030 

7,435 

21,990 

18,988 

1.  Revenue is attributable to geographic location based on the location of 

the customers.

2.  Non-current assets exclude deferred tax of US$770 million  

(2014: US$1,052 million).

Recognition and measurement

Revenue
Revenue is recognised and measured at the fair value of 
consideration received or receivable to the extent that it is probable 
that the economic benefits will flow to the Group and the revenue 
can be reliably measured.

 ƒ Revenue from sale of produced hydrocarbons

Revenue from the sale of produced hydrocarbons is recognised 
when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have 
passed to the customer, which is typically at the point that title 
passes. This policy is applied to the Group’s different operating 
arrangements.
Revenue is recognised on the basis of the Group’s working 
interest in a producing field (the entitlement method). 
Revenue from take or pay contracts is recognised in earnings 
when the product has been drawn by the customer and recorded 
as unearned revenue when not drawn by the customer. 

 ƒ Other operating revenue 

Revenue earned from LNG processing, ship chartering and other 
services is recognised as the services are rendered.
Trading revenue earned from sales of third party products is 
recognised when the risks and rewards of ownership of the 
products are transferred to the customer. 

Expenses
 ƒ Royalties and excise duty 

Royalties and excise duty under existing regimes are considered 
to be production-based taxes and are therefore accrued on the 
basis of the Group’s entitlement to physical production. 

 ƒ Depreciation and amortisation 

Refer to Note B.3 for details on depreciation and amortisation.

 ƒ Impairment 

Refer to Note B.4 for details on impairment.

 ƒ Leases

Refer to Note E.2 for details on leases.

 ƒ Employee benefits

Refer to Note E.3 for details on employee benefits.

80

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A: Earnings for the year for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015A.1  Segment revenue and expenses (cont.)

Producing

Development

Other

t
s
e
W
h
t
r
o
N

f
l
e
h
S

o
t
u
P

l

l
i

O
a
i
l
a
r
t
s
u
A

e
n
o
t
s
t
a
e
h
W

s
t
n
e
m
g
e
s

r
e
h
t
O

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e
t
a
c
o

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U

s
m
e
t
i

e
s
w
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r
B

d
e
t
a
d

i
l

o
s
n
o
C

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

2015

2014

US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m

Liquefied natural gas
Pipeline natural gas
Condensate
Oil 
Liquefied petroleum gas
Revenue from sale of produced 
hydrocarbons
Processing and services revenue
Trading revenue
Other revenue
Operating revenue

Production costs
Royalties and excise
Carbon costs
Insurance
Inventory movement
Onerous lease provision
Costs of production
Land and buildings
Transferred exploration and 
evaluation 
Plant and equipment 
Marine vessels and carriers
Oil and gas properties 
depreciation and amortisation
Shipping and direct sales costs
Trading costs
Other cost of sales
Cost of sales

Gross profit

1,028  1,654  2,067  2,909 

295 

291 

140 

34 

376 

568 

308 

80 

-

-

130 

333 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

510 

825 

-

-

1,788  2,986  2,197  3,242 

510 

825 

-

-

-

-

-

-

180 

198 

-

-

180 

198 

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,788  2,986  2,377  3,440 

510 

825 

(186)

(243)

(206)

(203)

(237)

(259)

(215)

(400)

(2)

(7)

(15)

-

(14)

(9)

5 

-

-

4 

(12)

(31)

-

-

(3)

(17)

28 

-

-

(3)

(23)

-

(128)

-

(6)

(3)

7 

-

(425)

(661)

(245)

(195)

(391)

(261)

(7)

(4)

(71)

(55)

-

-

(6)

(5)

(36)

(40)

(4)

(5)

(315)

(298)

(746)

(726)

(303)

(270)

(7)

(7)

-

-

-

-

(335)

(314)

(853)

(821)

(307)

(275)

(39)

(47)

(100)

(124)

-

-

-

-

(39)

(47)

(100)

(124)

(2)

-

(2)

(3)

-

(3)

(799) (1,022) (1,198) (1,140)

(700)

(539)

989  1,964  1,179  2,300 

(190)

286 

Other income 

11 

7 

10 

4 

13 

6 

Exploration and evaluation 
expenditure
Amortisation and write-offs
Exploration and evaluation
General, administrative and  
other costs
Impairment of oil and  
gas properties
Depreciation of other plant and 
equipment
Other

Other costs

Other expenses

(3)

-

(3)

(11)

(1)

(12)

(1)

-

(1)

(2)

-

(2)

(5)

(33)

(38)

(22)

(2)

(24)

5 

4 

9 

8 

29 

(38)

(200)

(41)

(1)

(4)

(200)

(203)

-

-

(37)

(49)

-

-

1 

10 

9 

-

-

-

8 

6 

(18)

(393)

-

-

-

-

11 

(431)

(27)

(455)

Profit/(loss) before tax and net 
finance costs

797  1,922  1,198  2,310 

(204)

(163)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(865)

-

-

(865)

(865)

(865)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

1 

-

-

-

1 

-

354 

354 

355 

-

1 

-

22 

-

23 

-

161 

161 

184 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(1)

(3)

(9)

-

-

-

-

-

-

(1)

(2)

(5)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3,095  4,563 

296 

421 

377 

901 

650 

1,155 

34 

80 

4,496 

7,076 

180 

354 

534 

198 

161 

359 

5,030 

7,435 

3 

-

(1)

8 

-

-

(639)

(215)

2 

(28)

(69)

(128)

(705)

(400)

(24)

(23)

40 

-

-

-

(2)

-

-

-

-

-

2 

-

-

(5)

-

(2)

(14)

-

(16)

(1)

(353)

(160)

(351)

(161)

(353)

(182)

2 

2 

3 

(7)

(240)

(245)

(120)

(23)

(360)

(268)

(14)

10  (1,077)

(1,112)

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

(78)

(59)

(46)

(52)

(1,364)

(1,308)

(7)

(7)

(1,495)

(1,426)

(9)

-

(9)

(23)

(23)

(10)

(148)

-

(353)

(185)

(160)

(10)

(501)

(345)

-

-

(3,073)

(2,883)

1,957  4,552 

-

-

-

-

21 

37 

31 

-

-

-

(249)

(280)

(153)

(26)

(402)

(306)

(14)

(35)

(57)

(80)

(28)

(141)

-

-

-

(14)

-

-

(14)

(49)

(374)

(317)

-

-

(1,083)

(434)

(21)

(15)

(93)

(93)

(15)

(1)

(22)

(18)

(15)

(15)

(96) (1,151)

(605)

(96) (1,553)

(911)

(369)

(322)

(116)

(75)

441  3,672 

81

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A: Earnings for the year for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A.2  Dividends paid and proposed

A.4  Taxes

2015

2014
US$m US$m

(a) Dividends paid during the financial year

(a) Tax expense comprises

Prior year fully franked final dividend US$1.44, 
paid on 25 March 2015 (2014: US$1.03, paid on  
26 March 2014)

Current year fully franked interim dividend 
US$0.66 paid on 23 September 2015  
(2014: US$1.11, paid on 24 September 2014)

1,186 

849 

PRRT

Current tax benefit

Deferred tax expense/(benefit) 

PRRT expense/(benefit)

544 

915 

1,730 

1,764 

Income tax

Current year

2015

2014
US$m US$m

(29)

160 

131 

(83)

(5)

(88)

Current tax expense

Deferred tax (benefit)/expense

283 

(168)

1,018 

74 

(b) Dividend declared subsequent to the 
reporting period end (not recorded as liability)

Final dividend US$0.43 (2014: US$1.44)

354

1,186 

(c) Other information

Franking credits available for the subsequent 
periods

2,808

2,257 

Tax expense

Adjustment to prior years

Current tax benefit

Deferred tax expense

Income tax expense

Current year dividends per share (US cents)

109

255 

(b) Reconciliation of income tax expense

A.3  Earnings per share

Profit before tax

PRRT (expense)/benefit

Profit before income tax

Profit attributable to equity holders of 
the parent (US$m)

Weighted average number of shares 
on issue

Basic and diluted earnings per share 
(US cents)

2015

2014

Income tax expense calculated at 30%

Non-deductible/(assessable) items

26 

2,414 

Foreign expenditure not brought to account

Over provided in prior years

822,943,960 

822,771,118 

Foreign exchange impact on tax expense

3.2 

293.4 

(c) Reconciliation of PRRT expense/(benefit)

Income tax expense

Earnings per share is calculated by dividing net profit for the year 
attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent by the weighted 
average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.  
The weighted average number of shares makes allowance for 
shares reserved for employee share plans.

Profit before tax

Non-PRRT assessable profits

PRRT projects profit before tax

PRRT expense calculated at 40%

Augmentation-Pluto

Performance rights of 9,243,434 (2014: 8,975,093) are considered 
to be contingently issuable and have not been allowed for in the 
diluted earnings per share calculation. 

There have been no transactions involving ordinary shares  
between the reporting date and the date of completion of  
this financial report.

Derecognition of quarantined exploration 
expenditure-Pluto

Other

PRRT expense/(benefit)

(d) Deferred tax income statement 
reconciliation

PRRT

Production and growth assets 

Provisions

Augmentation for current year

Derecognition of quarantined exploration 
expenditure

Other

PRRT deferred tax expense/(benefit)1

Income tax

Oil and gas properties

Provisions

Other liabilities

Exploration and evaluation assets

Other

Foreign jurisdiction

Income tax deferred tax (benefit)/expense

Deferred tax expense

82

1.  US$20 million (2014: US$nil) movement recognised in assets held  

for sale.  

(23)

20 

112 

243

356 

(131)

225 

67 

15 

82 

(2)

(50)

112 

(167)

156 

1,081 

993

3,509 

88 

3,597 

1,079 

(20)

63 

(11)

(30)

1,081 

356 

3,509 

(341)

(2,959)

15 

6 

(226)

363 

(12)

131 

(56)

67 

(226)

363 

12 

160 

(183)

61 

(42)

46 

(30)

-

(148)

12 

550 

220 

(225)

-

(83)

(88)

412 

(119)

(225)

-

(73)

(5)

272 

(189)

55 

95 

(14)

11 

230 

225 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A: Earnings for the year for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015A.4  Taxes (cont.)

(e) Deferred tax balance sheet reconciliation

Deferred tax assets

PRRT

Production and growth assets

Provisions

Augmentation for current year

Other

Deferred tax liabilities

PRRT

Production and growth assets

Provisions

Other

Income tax

Oil and gas properties

Provisions

Other liabilities

Exploration and evaluation assets

Other1

(f) Tax receivable/(payable) reconciliation

PRRT receivable/(payable) 

Income tax receivable/(payable)

2015

2014
US$m US$m

365 

197 

226 

(18)

770 

585 

246 

225 

(4)

1,052 

437 

(138)

12 

555 

(156)

14 

1,238 

1,421 

(560)

(621)

141

348

(88)

183 

302 

(61)

1,390 

1,637 

10 

96 

106 

(28)

(412)

(440)

1.  US$3 million (2014: US$3 million) movement recognised in other 

comprehensive income.

Recognition and measurement
Current tax assets and liabilities are measured at the amount 
expected to be recovered from or paid to the taxation authorities. 
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at the tax rates that 
are expected to apply in the period in which the liability is settled or 
the asset is realised. The tax rates and laws used to determine the 
amount are based on those that have been enacted or substantially 
enacted by the end of the reporting period. Income taxes relating 
to items recognised directly in equity are recognised in equity.

Current taxes
Current tax expense is the expected tax payable on the taxable 
income for the year and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of 
previous years.

Deferred taxes
Deferred tax expense is the movements in the temporary 
differences between the carrying amount of an asset or liability in 
the statement of financial position and its tax base. 

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for all taxable temporary 
differences. Deferred tax assets are recognised for deductible 
temporary differences, unused tax losses and tax credits only if it 
is probable that sufficient future taxable income will be available to 
utilise those temporary differences and losses. 

Deferred tax is not recognised if the temporary difference arises 
from goodwill or from the initial recognition (other than in a 
business combination) of assets and liabilities in a transaction that 
affects neither accounting profit nor the taxable profit. 

Deferred tax is also not recognised if the taxable difference relates 
to investments in subsidiaries, associates and interests in joint 
ventures to the extent that the Group is able to control the reversal 
of the temporary difference and it is not probable to reverse in the 
foreseeable future. 

In relation to PRRT, the impact of future augmentation on 
expenditure is included in the determination of future taxable 
profits when assessing the extent to which a deferred tax asset can 
be recognised in the statement of financial position. 

Offsetting deferred tax balances
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset only if there is a legally 
enforceable right to offset current tax assets and liabilities and 
when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation 
authority on either the same taxable entity or different taxable 
entities that the Group intends to settle its current tax assets and 
liabilities on a net basis. Refer to Notes E.9 and E.10 for detail on 
the tax consolidated group.

Key estimates and judgements

(a) Income tax classification
Judgement is required when determining whether a particular 
tax is an income tax or another type of tax. Accounting for 
deferred tax is applied to income taxes as described above, 
but is not applied to other types of taxes, e.g. North West 
Shelf royalties and excise. Such taxes are recognised in 
the income statement on an appropriate basis.  PRRT is 
considered, for accounting purposes, to be an income tax.

(b) Deferred tax asset recognition 
Foreign tax losses: Deferred tax assets of US$334 million 
(2014: US$287 million) relating to unused foreign tax losses 
that are available for offset against future taxable profits are 
not recognised. The Group has determined it is not probable 
that the assets will be utilised based on current planned 
activities in those regions.

PRRT: Deferred tax assets of US$3,466 million 
(2014: US$3,389 million) on the deductible temporary 
differences have not been recognised on the basis that 
deductions from future augmentation of the deductible 
temporary difference will be sufficient to offset future taxable 
profit. US$3,028 million (2014: US$3,389 million) relates to the 
transition of the North West Shelf Project, US$363 million  
(2014: US$nil) relates to the quarantined exploration spend of 
the Pluto Project and US$75 million (2014: US$nil) relates to the 
general expenditure of the Wheatstone Project. Future taxable 
profits were determined using the same assumptions disclosed 
in Note B.4 and a long-term bond rate of 2.7% for the purposes 
of augmentation.

Had an alternative approach been used to assess recovery of 
the deferred tax assets, whereby future augmentation was not 
included in the assessment, the estimated deferred tax assets 
would be recognised, with a corresponding benefit to income 
tax expense. It was determined that the approach adopted 
provides the most meaningful information on the implications  
of the PRRT regime, whilst ensuring compliance with  
AASB 112 Income Taxes.

83

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS A: Earnings for the year for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTIn this section

This section addresses core producing (oil and gas properties) and strategic growth (exploration and evaluation) 
assets position of the Group at the end of the reporting period including, where applicable, the accounting policies 
applied and the key estimates and judgements made. The section also includes the impairment position of the 
Group at the end of the reporting period.

B.  Production and growth assets

B.1   Segment production and growth assets 

B.2  Exploration and evaluation

B.3  Oil and gas properties

B.4   Impairment of oil and gas properties

B.5  Significant production and growth asset acquisitions

Page 85

Page 86

Page 87

Page 88

Page 89

.

84

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015B.1  Segment production and growth assets

Producing

Development

Other

t
s
e
W
h
t
r
o
N

f
l
e
h
S

o
t
u
P

l

l
i

O
a
i
l
a
r
t
s
u
A

e
n
o
t
s
t
a
e
h
W

s
t
n
e
m
g
e
s

r
e
h
t
O

d
e
t
a
c
o

l
l
a
n
U

s
m
e
t
i

e
s
w
o
r
B

d
e
t
a
d

i
l

o
s
n
o
C

2015
2014
US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m US$m

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2014

2014

2014

2014

2014

2014

2014

Balance as at 31 December

Oceania

Asia

Africa

The Americas

Europe

26 

66 

402 

371 

192 

173 

373 

247 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Total exploration and evaluation

26 

66 

402 

371 

192 

173 

373 

247 

Balance as at 31 December

Land and buildings

Transferred exploration and 
evaluation

Plant and equipment

35 

42 

539 

609 

-

-

40 

42 

417 

358 

8 

13 

2,532  2,996  11,589  11,947 

359 

621 

Marine vessels and carriers

129 

135 

-

-

Projects in development

339 

333 

142 

406 

-

12 

-

31 

Total oil and gas properties

3,075  3,548  12,687  13,320 

379 

665 

Additions to exploration and 
evaluation

Exploration

Evaluation

Restoration

Additions to oil and gas 
properties

-

10 

-

10 

-

24 

-

32 

(1)

-

24 

31 

-

-

(2)

(2)

33 

19 

-

52 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

- 

14

131 

- 

(5)

14

126 

79 

6

85 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

284 

-

2,811 

3,095

-

-

-

-

Oil and gas properties additions

151 

157 

234 

233 

154 

25 

Capitalised borrowing costs 
additions1

Restoration

9 

10 

5 

3 

-

-

(144)

241 

(16)

160 

(7)

138 

16

408 

223 

396 

147 

163 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3,755 

96 

109 

3,960

1. Borrowing costs capitalised were at a weighted average interest rate of 3.9% (2014: 4.1%).
Refer to Note A.1 for descriptions of the Group’s segments.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

308 

348 

1 

26 

1,302  1,231 

30 

19 

1,173 

4 

10 

13 

4 

10 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

30 

19 

1,173 

4 

10 

13 

4 

10 

1,534 

385 

1 

26 

2,528  1,268 

1 

-

3 

-

(4)

-

1 

-

4 

-

(4)

1 

122 

131 

1,072 

75 

1

3 

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

575 

652 

465 

413 

- 14,767  15,568 

-

-

129 

135 

3,300 

766 

- 19,236  17,534 

1 

187 

132 

(25)

11 

1,206 

129 

-

-

70 

7 

1,269

135

(25)

12 

1,463 

268 

-

-

-

-

-

-

- 

-  

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

4,294 

415 

110 

13 

(58)

539 

4,346

967 

85

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORT 
 
 
 
 
B.2  Exploration and evaluation

Year ended 31 December 2015
Carrying amount at 1 January 2015
Additions
Amortisation of licence acquisition costs
Expensed
Transferred exploration and evaluation
Carrying amount at 31 December 2015

Year ended 31 December 2014
Carrying amount at 1 January 2014
Additions
Disposals at written down value
Amortisation of licence acquisition costs
Expensed
Transferred exploration and evaluation
Carrying amount at 31 December 2014

Exploration commitments
Year ended 31 December 2015
Year ended 31 December 2014

Oceania
US$m

Asia
US$m

Africa The Americas
US$m
US$m

Europe
US$m

Total
US$m

1,231 
221 
-
(100)
(50)
1,302 

1,016 
240 
-
-
(5)
(20)
1,231 

142 
192 

10 
42 
(6)
(16)
-
30 

16 
1 
-
(7)
-
-
10 

130 
68 

13 
20 
(2)
(12)
-
19 

-
13 
-
-
-
-
13 

25 
24 

4 
1,179 
(10)
-
-
1,173 

31 
4 
(17)
(14)
-
-
4 

124 
5 

10 
1 
(4)
(3)
-
4 

-
10 
-
-
-
-
10 

53 
82 

1,268 
1,463 
(22)
(131)
(50)
2,528 

1,063 
268
(17)
(21)
(5)
(20)
1,268 

474 
371 

Recognition and measurement
Expenditure on exploration and evaluation is accounted for 
in accordance with the area of interest method. The Group’s 
application of the accounting policy for the cost of exploring and 
of evaluating discoveries is closely aligned to the US GAAP-based 
successful efforts method.

Areas of interest are recognised at the field level. All exploration 
and evaluation expenditure, including general permit activity, 
geological and geophysical costs and new venture activity costs,  
is expensed as incurred except for the following:
 ƒ where the expenditure relates to an exploration discovery that, 
at the reporting date, has not been recognised as an area of 
interest, as an assessment of the existence or otherwise of 
economically recoverable reserves is not yet complete, then it is 
capitalised; or

 ƒ where the expenditure relates to a recognised area of interest 

and it is expected that the expenditure will be recouped through 
successful exploitation of the area of interest, or alternatively, by 
its sale, then it is capitalised.

The costs of acquiring interests in new evaluation and exploration 
licences are capitalised. The costs of drilling exploration wells 
are initially capitalised pending the results of the well. Costs 
are expensed where the well does not result in the successful 
discovery of economically recoverable hydrocarbons and the 
recognition of an area of interest. Subsequent to the recognition  
of an area of interest, all further evaluation costs relating to that 
area of interest are capitalised.

Upon approval for the commercial development of an area  
of interest, accumulated expenditure for the area of interest is 
transferred to oil and gas properties.

In the statement of cash flows, those cash flows associated  
with capitalised exploration and evaluation expenditure,  
including unsuccessful wells, are classified as cash flows  
used in investing activities. 

Exploration commitments
The Group has exploration expenditure obligations which are 
contracted for, but not provided for in the financial report. These 
obligations may be varied from time to time and are expected to be 
fulfilled in the normal course of operations of the Group.

Key estimates and judgements

(a) Area of interest 
An area of interest (AOI) is defined by the Group as an 
individual geographical area whereby the presence of 
hydrocarbons is considered favourable or proved to exist.  
The Group has established criteria to recognise and maintain 
an AOI. There is separate guidance for conventional and 
unconventional AOIs.

(b) Impairment of exploration and evaluation assets 
The recoverability of the carrying amount of the exploration 
and evaluation assets is dependent on successful development 
and commercial exploitation, or alternatively, sale of the 
respective AOI. 

Each potential or recognised AOI is reviewed half-yearly to 
determine whether economic quantities of reserves have been 
found or whether further exploration and evaluation work is 
underway or planned to support continued carry forward of 
capitalised costs. Where a potential impairment is indicated, 
assessment is performed using a fair value less costs to 
dispose method, to determine the recoverable amount for 
each AOI to which the exploration and evaluation expenditure 
is attributed. 

This assessment requires management to make certain 
estimates and apply judgement in determining assumptions 
as to future events and circumstances, in particular, the 
assessment of whether economic quantities of reserves 
have been found. Any such estimates and assumptions 
may change as new information becomes available. If, after 
having capitalised expenditure under the policy, the Group 
concludes that it is unlikely to recover the expenditure by future 
exploitation or sale, then the relevant capitalised amount will be 
written off to the income statement.

86

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015B.3  Oil and gas properties

Year ended 31 December 2015
Carrying amount at 1 January 2015
Additions
Disposals at written down value
Depreciation and amortisation 
Impairment loss
Completions and transfers
Carrying amount at 31 December 2015

At 31 December 2015
Historical cost
Accumulated depreciation and impairment 
Net carrying amount

Year ended 31 December 2014
Carrying amount at 1 January 2014
Additions
Disposals at written down value
Depreciation and amortisation 
Impairment loss
Completions and transfers
Carrying amount at 31 December 2014

At 31 December 2014
Historical cost
Accumulated depreciation and impairment 
Net carrying amount

Land and 
buildings
US$m

Transferred 
exploration 
and evaluation 
US$m

Plant and 
equipment
US$m

Marine 
vessels and 
carriers
US$m

Projects in 
development
US$m

652 
-
-
(78)
-
1 
575 

1,092 
(517)
575 

712 
-
(2)
(59)
-
1 
652 

1,091 
(439)
652 

413 
-
(3)
(46)
-
101 
465 

872 
(407)
465 

474 
-
(9)
(52)
-
-
413 

801 
(388)
413 

15,568 
(119)
(4)
(1,364)
(218)
904 
14,767 

24,181 
(9,414)
14,767 

16,620 
534 
(72)
(1,308)
(434)
228 
15,568 

24,485 
(8,917)
15,568 

135 
-
-
(7)
-
1 
129 

401 
(272)
129 

115 
-
-
(7)
-
27 
135 

400 
(265)
135 

766 
4,465 
-
-
(865)
(1,066)
3,300 

4,223 
(923)
3,300 

569 
433 
-
-
-
(236)
766 

824 
(58)
766 

Total 
US$m

17,534 
4,346 
(7)
(1,495)
(1,083)
(59) 
19,236 

30,769 
(11,533)
19,236 

18,490 
967 
(83)
(1,426)
(434)
20 
17,534 

27,601 
(10,067)
17,534 

Recognition and measurement
Oil and gas properties are stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and impairment charges. Oil and gas properties 
include initial cost to acquire, construct, install or complete 
production and infrastructure facilities such as pipelines and 
platforms, capitalised borrowing costs, transferred exploration and 
evaluation assets, development wells and the estimated cost of 
dismantling and restoration. 

Subsequent capital costs, including major maintenance, are 
included in the asset’s carrying amount only when it is probable 
that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to 
the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably.

Depreciation and amortisation
Oil and gas properties and other plant and equipment are 
depreciated to their estimated residual values at rates based on 
their expected useful lives. 

Transferred evaluation and exploration and offshore plant and 
equipment are depreciated using the unit of production basis over 
proved reserves or proved plus probable reserves. Onshore plant  
and equipment is depreciated using a straight-line basis over the 
lesser of useful life and the life of proved plus probable reserves.  
On a straight-line basis the assets have an estimated useful life of 
5-50 years.

All other items of oil and gas properties are depreciated using the 
straight-line method over their useful life. They are depreciated 
as follows:
 ƒ Buildings – 24-40 years;
 ƒ Marine vessels and carriers – 10-40 years;
 ƒ Other plant and equipment – 5-15 years; and
 ƒ Land is not depreciated. 

Impairment
Refer to Note B.4 for details on impairment. 

Capital commitments 
The Group has capital expenditure commitments contracted for,  
but not provided for in the financial report of US$520 million  
(2014: US$89 million).

Key estimates and judgements

Reserves and resources 
The estimations of reserves require significant management 
judgement and interpretation of complex geological and 
geophysical models in order to make an assessment of 
the size, shape, depth and quality of reservoirs, and their 
anticipated recoveries.

Estimates of oil and natural gas reserves are used to 
calculate depreciation, depletion and amortisation charges 
for the Group’s oil and gas properties. Judgement is used in 
determining the reserve base applied to each asset. Typically, 
late life oil assets use proved reserves.

Estimates are reviewed at least annually or when there are 
changes in the economic circumstances impacting specific 
assets or asset groups. These changes may impact depreciation, 
asset carrying values, restoration provisions and deferred tax 
balances. If proved reserves estimates are revised downwards, 
earnings could be affected by higher depreciation expense or an 
immediate write-down of the property’s carrying value.

For more information regarding reserve assumptions, refer to 
the reserves and resources statement at page 38 of the  
Annual Report.

87

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTImpairment of oil and gas properties

B.4 
Recognition and measurement

Impairment testing
The carrying amounts of oil and gas properties are assessed 
half-yearly to determine whether there is an indication of 
impairment. Indicators of impairment include changes in future 
selling prices, future costs and reserves. If any such indication 
exists, the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated.

Oil and gas properties are assessed for impairment on a cash 
generating unit (CGU) basis. CGUs are determined on a field by 
field basis, except for Pluto and Wheatstone which are single  
CGUs respectively, and North West Shelf, which is split into an  
oil CGU and a gas CGU.

Impairment calculations
The recoverable amount of an asset or CGU is determined as the 
higher of its value in use and fair value less costs of disposal. Value 
in use is determined by estimating future cash flows after taking 
into account the risks specific to the asset and discounting it to its 
present value using an appropriate discount rate.

If the carrying amount of an asset (or CGU) exceeds its recoverable 
amount, the asset (or CGU) is written down and an impairment loss 
is recognised in the income statement. 

Impairment reversals
If the recoverable amount of an asset or a CGU that has previously 
been impaired, subsequently exceeds its carrying amount, the 
impairment loss is reversed. The carrying amount of the asset 
(or CGU) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable 
amount, but only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount 
does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been 
determined, net of depreciation or amortisation, if no impairment 
loss had been recognised.

Inputs to impairment calculation
Future cash flow information used for the value in use calculation 
is based on the Group’s latest budget, five-year plan and project 
economic plans. Key estimates are disclosed in the ‘Key estimates 
and judgements’ section.

Recognised impairment and impairment reversals
The Group assessed each CGU to determine whether an indicator 
of impairment or impairment reversal existed. All impairment losses 
and reversals are recognised in other expenses. Refer to Note A.1.

 ƒ The conditional sale of the Laminaria- Corallina assets in the 
Australia Oil segment resulted in an impairment reversal of 
US$95 million as the asset’s fair value less costs of disposal 
exceeded the carrying value. The valuation used level 3 fair value 
hierarchy inputs, being the conditional sales price in an orderly 
arm’s length transaction.

 ƒ The decline in forecast oil prices and oil field decline for the 
Balnaves oil asset in the Australia Oil segment resulted in an 
impairment loss of US$10 million for the oil and gas properties. 

 ƒ The decline in forecast oil and gas prices resulted in an 

impairment loss of US$1,168 million (2014: US$434 million) for 
the oil and gas properties in the Australia Oil, North West Shelf 
and Wheatstone operating segments.

Impairment 
charge/(reversal)

Recoverable 
amount

2014
2015
US$m US$m US$m US$m

2015

2014

Australia Oil

Enfield oil

Stybarrow

Laminaria-Corallina

Vincent oil

Balnaves 

NWS oil

Wheatstone

18 

-

(95)

85 

10 

200 

865 
1,083 

179 

60 

64 

90 

N/A

41 

N/A
434 

8 

-

109 

220

-

224 

3,094 
3,655 

37 

-

27 

335 

N/A

532 

N/A
931 

All impairment losses recognised against plant and equipment, with the 
exception of Wheatstone which is against projects in development.

Key estimates and judgements

Recoverable amount calculation key assumptions
In determining the recoverable amount of assets, in the absence 
of quoted market prices, estimates are made regarding the 
present value of future cash flows. These estimates require 
significant management judgement and are subject to risk and 
uncertainty, and hence changes in economic conditions can 
also affect the assumptions used and the rates used to discount 
future cash flow estimates. Laminaria-Corallina was assessed 
using the fair value less costs to dispose method, all other assets 
were assessed using the value in use method. The basis for the 
estimates used for value in use assessments are set out below: 

 ƒ Inflation rate – an inflation rate of 2.0% has been applied 

(2014: 2.5%). 

 ƒ Foreign exchange rates – based on the forward exchange 
rates at the date of assessment of three years, reverting 
to management’s assumptions, including $0.75 AUD:USD 
(2014: $0.90) after five years. 

 ƒ LNG price – based on the terms set out in the relevant 

contracts between the Group and its customers. The majority 
of LNG sales contracts are linked to an oil price marker, 
accordingly the LNG prices used are consistent with oil price 
assumptions. 

 ƒ Natural gas price – based on the terms set out in the relevant 

contracts between the Group and its customers. 
 ƒ Oil price – oil prices were derived from forward price 
curves and long-term views of  global supply and 
demand, building upon past experience of the industry 
and consistent with external sources. Prices are adjusted 
based on premiums and discounts applied to the oil price 
marker based on the nature and quality of the product produced 
at the field. The unadjusted oil prices (US$/bbl) used were:

2016

41.68

2017

47.58

2018

51.90

2019

65.68

2020

74.24

2021

82.81

 ƒ Discount rate – a range of pre-tax discount rates have been 

Prices from 2021 onwards are escalated at 2%.

applied between 9% and 13% (2014: 12% and 13%).

88

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015B.4 

Impairment of oil and gas 
properties (cont.)

Sensitivity analysis
It is estimated that changes in the key assumptions would result in a 
higher or lower impairment or impairment reversal for the following 
CGUs in 2015:

Under the terms of the Sale and Purchase Agreements, Woodside 
has acquired the following undivided interests in an arrangement 
and interests in Joint Operations:
 ƒ a 13% interest in the Wheatstone LNG project and a 65% 

Sensitivity

NWS oil

Vincent Wheatstone

Cash generating unit

Discount rate: increase 1%

Discount rate: decrease 1%

Long-term oil price: 
reduction of US$5 (real)

Long-term oil price 
increase of US$5 (real)

9 

(10)

22 

(22)

16 

(17)

36

(36)

336 

(387)

324

(324)

A reasonable possible change in the US$ exchange rate  
(+10%/-10%) would not result in a material change to the 
impairments recognised.

A reasonable possible change in discount rate (+1%/-1%),  
long-term oil price (+US$5/bbl/-US$5/bbl) and US$ exchange  
rate (+10%/-10%) would not result in a change greater than  
US$5 million to the impairment charge recorded for Enfield,  
and results in no change to the impairment charge recorded  
for Balnaves.

B.5  Significant production and growth 

asset acquisitions

Woodside entered into a binding transaction with Apache 
Corporation to acquire Apache’s Wheatstone LNG and Balnaves oil 
interests in Australia and Kitimat LNG project interests in Canada, 
for an aggregate purchase price of US$2,750 million plus a closing 
adjustment of US$921 million.

The Australian Wheatstone LNG and Balnaves oil component of 
the transaction successfully closed on 2 April 2015 for total cash 
consideration of US$2,817 million, including a closing adjustment of 
US$567 million. The closing adjustment represents reimbursement 
of Apache’s share of net expenditures in the Wheatstone LNG 
project and Julimar-Brunello upstream gas development, changes 
in working capital and net receipts from the Balnaves oil project 
between the effective date, 1 July 2014, and closing. In addition to 
the purchase cash consideration, transaction costs of US$39 million 
have been capitalised relating to the acquisition.

The component of the transaction relating to the Canadian Kitimat 
LNG project successfully closed on 10 April 2015 for total cash 
consideration of US$854 million, including a closing adjustment of 
US$354 million. The closing adjustment represents reimbursement 
of Apache’s share of net expenditures on the project, changes in 
working capital and other customary adjustments for the period 
between the effective date, 1 July 2014, and closing. In addition to 
the purchase cash consideration, transaction costs of US$12 million 
have been capitalised relating to the acquisition.

interest in the Julimar-Brunello upstream gas development, 
based in Western Australia;

 ƒ a 65% interest in the Balnaves oil project, based in Western 

Australia; and

 ƒ a 50% interest in the Kitimat LNG project, including 

approximately 320,000 net acres in the Horn River and Liard 
Basins, Canada.

The acquisition of the interests in the Wheatstone LNG project, 
Julimar-Brunello upstream gas development, Balnaves oil 
project and Kitimat LNG project, have been accounted as asset 
acquisitions. Except for the 13% interest in the Wheatstone LNG 
project, which represents an undivided interest in the project, the 
other interests acquired have been classified as Joint Operations.

The consolidated financial statements include the results of the 
Joint Operations and undivided interest for the nine-month period 
from the acquisition dates.

Assets acquired and liabilities assumed
The identifiable assets and liabilities acquired as at the date of the 
acquisition inclusive of transaction costs were:

Balnaves Wheatstone
US$m

US$m

Kitimat
US$m

Exploration and evaluation 
assets

Oil and gas properties

Restoration liabilities 
assumed

Cash acquired

Net other assets and 
liabilities acquired

Total identifiable net 
assets at acquisition

Cash flows on acquisition

-

123 

(78)

6 

9 

60 

-

2,812 

(77)

48 

13 

976 

-

(116)

8 

(2)

2,796 

866 

Purchase cash 
consideration

Transaction costs

Total purchase 
consideration

Accrued estimated 
transaction costs

Net cash acquired

Net cash outflows on 
acquisition

Balnaves Wheatstone
US$m

US$m

Kitimat
US$m

 60

-

60 

-

(6)

54 

2,757 

39 

2,796 

(23)

(48)

854 

12 

866 

 -

(8)

2,725 

858 

89

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS B: Production and growth assets for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTIn this section

This section addresses cash, debt and capital position of the Group at the end of the reporting period including, 
where applicable, the accounting policies applied and the key estimates and judgements made.

C.  Debt and capital

C.1  Cash and cash equivalents 

C.2  Interest-bearing liabilities 

C.3  Financing facilities

C.4  Contributed equity

C.5  Other reserves

Page 91

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Page 92

Page 92

Key financial and capital risks in this section
Capital risk management
Capital management is undertaken to ensure that a secure, cost-effective and flexible supply of funds is available 
to meet the Group’s operating and capital expenditure requirements. A stable capital base is maintained from 
which the Group can pursue its growth aspirations, whilst maintaining a flexible capital structure that allows access 
to a range of debt and equity markets to both draw upon and repay capital.

The Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) was approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in 2003 
for activation as required to fund future growth. The DRP was reactivated for the 2015 final dividend and will be 
fully underwritten. 

A range of financial metrics is monitored including gearing and cash flow leverage, and Treasury policy breaches 
and exceptions. The gearing ratio which is net debt divided by total equity (excluding non-controlling interest) plus 
net debt is 23.3% (2014: negative 4.5%) at reporting date.

Liquidity risk management
Liquidity risk arises from financial liabilities of the Group and the Group’s subsequent ability to meet its obligations 
to repay financial liabilities as and when they fall due. The liquidity position of the Group is managed to ensure 
sufficient liquid funds are available to meet its financial commitments in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The Group’s liquidity position is continually reviewed including cash flow forecasts to determine the forecast 
liquidity position and maintain appropriate liquidity levels.  At 31 December 2015, the Group has a total of  
US$1,722 million (2014: US$6,818 million) available undrawn facilities and cash at its disposal. The maturity profile 
of interest-bearing liabilities is disclosed in Note C.2, and trade and other payables is disclosed in Note D.3. 
Financing facilities available to the Group are disclosed in Note C.3.

Interest rate risk management
Interest rate risk is the risk that the Group’s financial position will fluctuate due to changes in market interest rates.

The Group’s exposure to the risk of changes in market interest rates relates primarily to financial instruments with 
floating interest rates including long-term debt obligations and cash and short-term deposits. The Group aims to 
manage its interest rate risk by maintaining an appropriate mix of fixed and floating rate debt. To manage the ratio 
of fixed rate debt to floating rate debt, the Group may enter into interest rate swaps. 

Cash and short-term deposits are short-term in nature and are therefore monitored to achieve the optimal 
outcome.

  At reporting date, the Group was exposed to various benchmark interest rates that were not designated in 
cash flow hedges, US$122 million (2014: US$3,268 million) on cash and cash equivalents and US$2,166 million 
(2014: US$1,300 million) on interest-bearing liabilities (excluding transaction costs).

A reasonably possible change in the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (+1.0%/-0.85%), with all variables held 
constant, would not have a material impact on the Group’s equity or the profit or loss in the current period. 

As at reporting date, the Group had no interest rate swaps.

90

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS C: Debt and capital for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 20152015

2014
US$m US$m

Amounts exclude transaction costs.

77 

77 

629 

629 

C.3  Financing facilities
Details of loan facilities at the reporting date are as follows:

C.1  Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash at bank 

Money market deposits

Total cash and cash equivalents

2015

2014
US$m US$m

122 

126 

-

3,142 

122 

3,268 

Recognition and measurement 
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of financial position 
comprise cash at bank and short-term deposits with an original 
maturity of three months or less. Cash and cash equivalents 
are stated at face value in the statement of financial position. 
For the purposes of the statement of cash flows, cash and cash 
equivalents are reported net of outstanding bank overdrafts.

Foreign exchange risk 
The Group held US$58 million of cash and cash equivalents at 
31 December 2015 (2014: US$98 million) in currencies other than 
US dollars (predominantly Australian dollars).

C.2 

Interest-bearing liabilities

(a) Interest-bearing liabilities (current)

Debt facilities

(b) Interest-bearing liabilities (non-current)

Bonds

Debt facilities

2,289 

1,292 

2,075 

4,364 

665 

1,957 

Recognition and measurement 
Borrowings are initially recognised at fair value less transaction 
costs. Borrowings are subsequently carried at amortised cost. Any 
difference between the proceeds received and the redemption 
amount is recognised in the income statement over the period of 
the borrowings using the effective interest method. 

All bonds and facilities are subject to various covenants and a 
negative pledge restricting future secured borrowings, subject to 
a number of permitted lien exceptions. Neither the covenants nor 
the negative pledges have been breached at any time during the 
reporting period.

Foreign exchange risk 
All interest-bearing liabilities are denominated in US dollars.

Fair value 
The carrying amount of interest-bearing liabilities approximates 
their fair value, with the exception of the Group’s three unsecured 
bonds which have a carrying amount of US$2,289 million 
(2014: US$1,292 million) and a fair value of US$2,310 million 
(2014: US$1,500 million). The fair value of the bonds was 
determined using quoted prices in an active market, classified 
as Level 1 on the fair value hierarchy. The Group’s repayment 
obligations remain unchanged. 

Unused facilities 
As at reporting date, the Group had the following facilities that were 
undrawn at balance date:

Debt facilities

2015

2014
US$m US$m

1,600 

3,550 

Maturity profile of interest-bearing liabilities
The table below presents the undiscounted cash flows associated 
with the Group’s interest bearing liabilities, representing principal 
and interest. The figures will not necessarily reconcile with the 
amounts disclosed in the consolidated statement of financial 
position.

Due for payment in:

1 year or less

1-2 years

2-3 years

3-4 years

4-5 years

More than 5 years

2015

2014
US$m US$m

236 

237 

1,127 

1,387 

155 

2,137 

5,279 

734 

172 

171 

171 

744 

1,086 

3,078 

Bi-lateral loan facilities
The Group has 16 bi-lateral loan facilities totalling US$2,100 million.
Details of bi-lateral loan facilities at the reporting date are as 
follows:

Number of 
facilities

8

2

6

Term (years)

Currency

Extension option

5

4

3

USD

USD

USD

Evergreen

Evergreen

Evergreen

Interest rates are based on LIBOR and margins are fixed at the 
commencement of the drawdown period. Interest is paid at the 
end of the drawdown period. Evergreen facilities may be extended 
continually by a year subject to the bank’s agreement. 

Medium Term Notes
On 28 August 2015, the Group established a US$3,000 million 
Global Medium Term Notes (MTN) program on the Singapore Stock 
Exchange. No Notes have been issued under this program.  
The program is not considered to be an unused facility.

Bonds
The Group has three unsecured bonds issued in the United States 
of America as defined in Rule 144A of the US Securities Act as set 
out below:
 ƒ the 2019 US$600 million bond has a fixed rate coupon of 

8.75% p.a. and matures on 1 March 2019; 

 ƒ the 2021 US$700 million bond has a fixed rate coupon of 

4.60% p.a. and matures on 10 May 2021; and

 ƒ  the 2025 US$1,000 million bond has a fixed rate coupon of 

3.65% p.a. and matures on 5 March 2025.

Interest on the bonds is payable semi-annually in arrears. 

91

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS C: Debt and capital for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTC.3  Financing facilities (cont.)
Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Facility
On 24 June 2008, the Group entered into a committed loan 
facility totalling US$1,500 million (JBIC Facility). The JBIC Facility 
comprises a 15-year, US$1,000 million tranche with JBIC (JBIC 
Tranche), and a five-year, US$500 million commercial tranche with  
a syndicate of eight Australian and international banks arranged by 
the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFFJ, Ltd (Commercial Tranche).  
The Commercial Tranche has subsequently been repaid, with the 
final payment made on 28 February 2013. There is a prepayment 
option for the JBIC Tranche. Interest rates are based on LIBOR. 
Interest is payable semi-annually in arrears and the principal 
amortises on a straight-line basis, with equal instalments of principal 
due on each interest payment date (every six months) starting on 
7 January 2012. Under the JBIC Facility, 90% of the receivables 
from designated Pluto LNG Project Sale and Purchase Agreements, 
are secured in favour of the lenders through a trust structure, with 
a required reserve amount of US$30 million. To the extent that 
this reserve amount remains fully funded and no default notice or 
acceleration notice has been given, the revenue from the Pluto LNG 
Project continues to flow directly to the Group from the  
trust account.

Syndicated facility
On 3 July 2015, the Group executed an unsecured US$1,000 million 
syndicated loan facility. The syndicated loan facility comprises two 
equal tranches with tenors of three and five years at interest rates 
of USD LIBOR plus 0.9% and USD LIBOR plus 1.15% respectively.  
Interest is paid at the end of the drawdown period.

(b) Shares reserved for employee share plans

Year ended 31 December 2015

Opening balance

Purchases during the year

Vested during the year

Amounts at 31 December 2015

Year ended 31 December 2014

Opening balance

Purchases during the year

Vested during the year

Amounts at 31 December 2014

Recognition and measurement

Number 
of shares

US$m

937,442 

1,880,385 

(1,832,025)

985,802 

902,040 

1,366,933 

(1,331,531)

937,442 

(38)

(45)

56 

(27)

(42)

(55)

59 

(38)

Issued capital
Ordinary shares are classified as equity and recorded at the value of 
consideration received. The cost of issuing shares is shown in share 
capital as a deduction, net of tax, from the proceeds.

Reserved shares
The Group’s own equity instruments, which are reacquired for later 
use in employee share-based payment arrangements (reserved 
shares), are deducted from equity. No gain or loss is recognised in 
the income statement on the purchase, sale, issue or cancellation 
of the Group’s own equity instruments.

Details of loan facilities closed out during the reporting period are 
as follows:

C.5  Other reserves

Other reserves

Employee benefits reserve

Foreign currency translation reserve

Investment fair value reserve 

Reserve

Nature and purpose 

2015

2014
US$m US$m

187 

776 

-

963 

161 

773 

(14)

920 

Employee 
benefits 
reserve

Foreign 
currency 
translation 
reserve

Investment 
fair value 
reserve

Used to record share-based payments 
associated with the employee share plans and 
remeasurement adjustments relating to the 
defined benefit plan.

Used to record foreign exchange differences 
arising from the translation of the financial 
statements of foreign entities from their 
functional currency to the Group’s presentation 
currency.

Used to record changes in the fair value of the 
Group’s available-for-sale financial assets.

Asian syndicated facility
On 8 December 2010, the Group executed a five-year  
US$1,100 million syndicated loan facility with 34 banks. The loan 
facility was composed of a US$550 million term facility (Facility A) 
and a US$550 million revolving facility (Facility B). Interest rates 
were based on LIBOR for both facilities and were fixed at the 
commencement of the drawdown periods. Interest was paid at  
the end of the drawdown period. The facility was repaid in full on  
16 July 2015.

364-day revolving credit facilities
The Group had one dual currency (US and Australian dollars)  
364-day revolving credit facility totalling US$50 million. Interest  
rates were based on LIBOR and were fixed at the commencement 
of the drawdown period. Interest was paid at the end of the 
drawdown period.

Bridging facilities
The Group entered into five 12-month bridging facilities in 
December 2014 totalling US$2,000 million. Interest rates  
were based on LIBOR and were fixed at the commencement  
of the drawdown period. Interest was paid at the end of the 
drawdown period.

C.4  Contributed equity
(a) Issued and fully paid shares

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

823,910,657 (2014: 823,910,657) ordinary 
shares

6,547 

6,547 

All shares are a single class with equal rights to dividends, capital 
distributions and voting. The company does not have authorised 
capital nor par value in respect of its issued shares. 

92

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS C: Debt and capital for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015In this section

This section addresses other assets and liabilities position at the end of the reporting period including, where 
applicable, the accounting policies applied and the key estimates and judgements made.

D.  Other assets and liabilities

D.1  Receivables

D.2  Inventories

D.3  Payables

D.4  Provisions 

D.5  Segment assets and liabilities

D.6  Disposal group held for sale

Page 94

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Page 94

Page 95

Page 96

Page 96

Key financial and capital risks in this section
Credit risk management 
Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligation under a financial instrument or customer 
contract, leading to a financial loss to the Group. Credit risk arises from the financial assets of the Group, which 
comprise trade and other receivables and deposits with banks and financial institutions.

The Group manages its credit risk on trade receivables and financial instruments by predominantly dealing with 
counterparties with an investment grade credit rating. Customers who wish to trade on unsecured credit terms are 
subject to credit verification procedures. Receivable balances are monitored on an ongoing basis. As a result, the 
Group’s exposure to bad debts is not significant. The Group’s maximum credit risk is limited to the carrying amount 
of its financial assets. 

93

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS D: Other assets and liabilities for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTD.1  Receivables

D.2 

Inventories

(a) Receivables (current)

Trade receivables1

Other receivables1

Loans receivable2

Dividend receivable

Interest receivable

(b) Receivables  (non-current)

Loans receivable2

Defined benefit plan asset

2015

2014
US$m US$m

227 

186

74

2 

-

300 

174 

-

3 

1 

489

478 

80

13

93

63 

-

63

1. 

Interest-free and settlement terms are usually between 6 and 30 days.

2.  Loans receivable are due from non-controlling interests. 

Recognition and measurement
Trade and other receivables, including receivables from related 
parties, are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently 
measured at amortised cost less an allowance for uncollectible 
amounts. Collectability and impairment are assessed on a regular 
basis. Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are 
credited against other expenses in the income statement.

The Group’s customers are required to pay in accordance with 
agreed payment terms. Depending on the product, settlement 
terms are 6 to 30 days from the date of invoice or bill of lading 
and customers regularly pay on time. There are no overdue trade 
receivables as at the end of the reporting period (2014: nil).

Fair value
The carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates 
their fair value.

Foreign exchange risk 
The Group held US$123 million of receivables at 31 December 
2015 (2014: US$80 million) in currencies other than US dollars 
(predominantly Australian dollars).

94

(a) Inventories (current)

Petroleum products (at cost)

Goods in transit

Finished stocks

Warehouse stores and materials (at cost)

(b) Inventories (non-current)

Warehouse stores and materials (at cost) 

2015

2014
US$m US$m

33 

42 

95 

67 

86 

94 

170 

247 

19 

19 

12 

12 

Recognition and measurement
Inventories include hydrocarbon stocks, consumable supplies and 
maintenance spares. Inventories are valued at the lower of cost 
and net realisable value. Cost is determined on a weighted average 
basis and includes direct costs and an appropriate portion of fixed 
and variable production overheads where applicable. Inventories 
determined to be obsolete or damaged are written down to net 
realisable value, being the estimated selling price less selling costs.

D.3  Payables
The following table shows the Group’s payables balances and 
maturity analysis.

<30 
days

30-60 
days

>60 
days

Total
US$m US$m US$m US$m

Year ended 31 December 2015

Trade payables1

Other payables1

Interest payable2

Total payables

Year ended 31 December 2014

Trade payables1

Other payables1

Interest payable2

Total payables

197 

493 

2 

692 

149 

295 

2 

446 

1 

-

1 

2 

-

-

-

-

85 

-

34 

119 

137 

-

22 

159 

283 

493 

37 

813 

286 

295 

24 

605 

1. 

Interest-free and normally settled on 30-day terms.

2.  Details regarding interest-bearing liabilities are contained in Note C.2.

Recognition and measurement
Trade and other payables are carried at amortised cost when goods 
and services are received, whether or not billed to the Group, prior 
to the end of the reporting period.

Fair value 
The carrying amount of payables approximates their fair value.

Foreign exchange risk 
The Group held US$507 million of payables at 31 December 
2015 (2014: US$410 million) in currencies other than US dollars 
(predominantly Australian dollars). 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS D: Other assets and liabilities for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015D.4  Provisions

Year ended 31 December 2015

At 1 January 2015

Change in provision

Unwinding of present value discount

Transfer to liabilities held for sale

Carrying amount at 31 December 2015

Current 

Non-current 

Net carrying amount

Year ended 31 December 2014

At 1 January 2014

Change in provision

Unwinding of present value discount

Carrying amount at 31 December 2014

Current 

Non-current 

Net carrying amount

Recognition and measurement
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present obligation 
(legal or constructive) as a result of a past event, it is probable 
that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will 
be required to settle the obligation and a reliable estimate can be 
made of the amount of the obligation. 

Restoration of operating locations 
Provision is made for the obligation to restore operating locations. 
The provision is first recognised in the period in which the 
obligation arises. The nature of restoration activities includes the 
removal of facilities, abandonment of wells and restoration of 
affected areas. 

Restoration provisions are updated annually, with the corresponding 
movement recognised against the related exploration and 
evaluation assets or oil and gas properties.

Over time, the liability is increased for the change in the present 
value based on a pre-tax discount rate appropriate to the risks 
inherent in the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recorded 
as an accretion charge within finance costs. The carrying amount 
capitalised in oil and gas properties is depreciated over the useful 
life of the related asset (refer to Note B.3).

Costs incurred that relate to an existing condition caused by  
past operations and do not have a future economic benefit  
are expensed.

Onerous lease
Provision is made for the loss making component of non-
cancellable operating leases. During the period, a US$128 million 
provision was recognised (in other provisions) for the remaining 
payment obligations under the Balnaves FPSO lease, which ends 
in 2018.

Employee benefits
Provision is made for employee benefits accumulated as a result of 
employees rendering services up to the end of the reporting period. 
These benefits include wages, salaries, annual leave and long 
service leave.

Restoration 
of operating 
locations
US$m

Employee 
benefits
US$m

Other
US$m

Total 
US$m

1,724 

(37)

43 

(156)

1,574 

26 

1,548 

1,574 

1,191 

499 

34 

1,724 

4 

1,720 
1,724 

172 

(31)

-

-

141 

114 

27 

141 

176 

(4)

-

172 

138 

34 
172 

48 

105 

-

-

153 

75 

78 

153 

92 

(44)

-

48 

47 

1 
48 

1,944 

37 

43 

(156)

1,868 

215 

1,653 

1,868 

1,459 

451 

34 

1,944 

189 

1,755 
1,944 

Liabilities in respect of employees’ services rendered that are not 
expected to be wholly settled within one year after the end of the 
period in which the employees render the related services are 
recognised as long-term employee benefits. 

These liabilities are measured at the present value of the estimated 
future cash outflow to be made to the employees using the 
projected unit credit method. Liabilities expected to be wholly 
settled within one year after the end of the period in which the 
employees render the related services are classified as short-term 
benefits and are measured at the amount due to be paid. 

Key estimates and judgements

(a) Restoration obligations 
The Group estimates the future removal costs of offshore oil 
and gas platforms, production facilities, wells and pipelines at 
different stages of the development and construction of assets 
or facilities. In most instances, removal of assets occurs many 
years into the future. This requires judgemental assumptions 
regarding removal date, future environmental legislation, the 
extent of reclamation activities required, the engineering 
methodology for estimating cost, future removal technologies 
in determining the removal cost, and liability specific discount 
rates to determine the present value of these cash flows. 
 The proportion of the non-current balance not expected to be 
settled within 15 years is 71%. 

(b) Long service leave 
Long service leave is measured at the present value of benefits 
accumulated up to the end of the reporting period. The liability 
is discounted using an appropriate discount rate. Management 
requires judgement to determine key assumptions used 
in the calculation including future increases in salaries and 
wages, future on-costs rates and future settlement dates of 
employees’ departures.

95

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS D: Other assets and liabilities for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTD.5  Segment assets and liabilities

2015

2014
US$m US$m

Assets and liabilities of the disposal group held for sale
The major classes of assets and liabilities of the Laminaria-Corallina 
joint operation disposal group classified as held for sale are 
as follows:

2015
US$m

-

2 

14 

109 

20 

145 

-

-

(156)

(156)

(11)

3,417 

4,008 

13,455 

14,046 

Assets

764 

368 

3,165 

1,599 

1,071 

935 

233 

-

485 

4,375 

Cash and cash equivalents

Receivables

Inventories

Oil and gas properties

Deferred tax assets

23,839 

24,082 

Assets held for sale

2015

2014
US$m US$m

1,729 

1,875 

456 

789 

38 

293 

267 

484 

842 

35 

-

89 

5,242 

4,098 

8,814 

7,423 

Liabilities

Payables

Tax payable

Provisions

Liabilities directly associated with assets held for sale

Net assets directly associated with disposal group

There are no cumulative income or expenses included in  
other comprehensive income relating to the disposal group.

Recognition and measurement
The Group classifies non-current assets and disposal groups as 
held for sale if their carrying amounts will be recovered principally 
through sale rather than through continuing use. Such non-current 
assets and disposal groups classified as held for sale are measured 
at the lower of their carrying amount and fair value less costs to 
sell. Costs to sell are the incremental costs directly attributable to 
the sale, excluding the finance costs and income tax expense.

The criteria for held for sale classification is regarded as met only 
when the sale is highly probable and the asset or disposal group 
is available for immediate sale in its present condition. Actions 
required to complete the sale should indicate that it is unlikely that 
significant changes to the sale will be made or that the decision 
to sell will be withdrawn. Management must be committed to the 
sale expected within one year from the date of the classification.

Property, plant and equipment and intangible assets are not 
depreciated or amortised once classified as held for sale.

Assets and liabilities classified as held for sale are presented 
separately as current items in the statement of financial position.

(a) Segment assets

NWS

Pluto

Australia Oil

Browse

Wheatstone

Other segments

Unallocated items

(b) Segment liabilities

NWS

Pluto

Australia Oil

Browse

Wheatstone

Other segments

Unallocated items

Refer to Note A.1 for descriptions of the Group’s segments. 
Unallocated assets mainly comprise cash and cash equivalents 
and the Group’s deferred tax assets. Unallocated liabilities mainly 
comprise interest-bearing liabilities and deferred tax liabilities.

D.6  Disposal group held for sale
In September 2015, management committed to a plan and signed a 
conditional agreement to sell the Group’s interests in the Laminaria-
Corallina joint operation for a base price of A$0.9 million, plus a 
closing adjustment for movements in working capital assets and 
liabilities existing at the effective date and for the proceeds of oil 
sales received and operating and capital expenditure paid during the 
interim period. Accordingly, the joint operations are presented as a 
disposal group held for sale. The Laminaria-Corallina joint operation 
forms part of the Australia Oil operating segment. The sale is 
subject to a number of conditions precedent and is expected to 
complete in March 2016. 

Impairment reversals relating to the disposal group held  
for sale
Immediately before the classification of the assets and liabilities 
within the Laminaria-Corallina joint operation as a disposal group 
held for sale, the recoverable amount was estimated for certain 
items of oil and gas properties and an impairment reversal of  
$95 million was recognised (Note B.4). As at 31 December 2015, 
there were no asset write-downs as the carrying amount of the 
disposal group did not fall below its fair value less costs to sell. 

96

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS D: Other assets and liabilities for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015In this section

This section addresses information on items which require disclosure to comply with Australian Accounting 
Standards and the Australian Corporations Act 2001, however, are not considered critical in understanding the 
financial performance or position of the Group. This section includes group structure information and  
other disclosures.

E.  Other items

E.1  Contingent liabilities and assets

E.2  Leases 

E.3  Employee benefits

E.4  Related party transactions

E.5  Auditor remuneration

E.6  Events after the end of the reporting period

E.7  Joint arrangements

E.8  Parent entity information

E.9  Subsidiaries

E.10 Other accounting policies

Page 98

Page 98

Page 98

Page 100 

Page 100

Page 100

Page 100

Page 101

Page 102 

Page 104

.

97

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTE.1  Contingent liabilities and assets

(a) Contingent liabilities at reporting date

Not otherwise provided for in the financial report

Contingent liabilities

Guarantees

(b) Contingent assets at reporting date

Not otherwise accounted for in the financial report

Contingent assets (claims made or pending)

2015

2014
US$m US$m

48 

5 

53 

-

-

46 

8 

54 

9 

9 

Contingent liabilities relate predominantly to actual or potential 
claims of the Group for which amounts are reasonably estimated 
but the liability is not probable and therefore the Group has not 
provided for such amounts in this financial report. Additionally, there 
are a number of other claims and possible claims that have arisen in 
the course of business against entities in the Group, the outcome 
of which cannot be foreseen at present and for which no amounts 
have been included in the table above. 

The Group has issued guarantees relating to workers’ 
compensation liabilities. 

Contingent assets relate predominantly to claims receivable by 
the Group for which amounts are reasonably estimated but the 
receivable is not virtually certain and therefore the Group has not 
provided for such amounts in this financial report.

E.2 

Leases

2015

2014
US$m US$m

Operating lease commitments

Rents payable on non-cancellable operating 
leases, due1

Within one year

After one year but not more than five years

Later than five years

1.  Operating lease commitments include those relating to the Balnaves 
FPSO lease, refer to Note D.4 for onerous lease provision details.

Subject to the joint operation that utilises the lease, the Group’s 
share of actual payments made under operating leases may be 
lower than the value of commitments disclosed.

The Group leases assets for operations including floating 
production, storage and off-take vessels, helicopters, supply 
vessels, cranes, land, mobile offshore drilling units, office premises 
and computers. 

There are no restrictions placed upon the lessee by entering into 
these leases. Renewals are at the option of the Group. Certain 
leases contain a clause enabling upward revision of the rental 
charge on an annual basis based on the consumer price index. The 
Group made payments under operating leases of US$567 million 
during the year (2014: US$431 million). A portion of this amount 
relates to arrangements containing non-lease elements, which are 
not practicable to separate.

Recognition and measurement
Operating lease payments are recognised as an expense in the 
income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term. 
Lease incentives received are recognised in the income statement 
as a part of total lease expense.

98

E.3  Employee benefits
(a) Employee benefits 
Employee benefits for the reporting period are as follows:

Employee benefits

Share-based payments

Defined contribution plan costs

Defined benefit plan expense

2015
US$m

2014
US$m

239 

26 

28 

1 

294 

353 

23 

38 

2 

416 

Recognition and measurement
The Group’s accounting policy for employee benefits other than 
superannuation are set out in Note D.4. The policy relating to  
share-based payments is set out in Note E.3(c).

All employees of the Group are entitled to benefits on retirement, 
disability or death from the Group’s superannuation plan. The majority 
of employees are party to a defined contribution scheme and receive 
fixed contributions from Group companies and the Group’s legal or 
constructive obligation is limited to these contributions. Contributions 
to defined contribution funds are recognised as an expense as they 
become payable. Prepaid contributions are recognised as an asset to 
the extent that a cash refund or a reduction in the future payment is 
available.   The Group also operates a defined benefit superannuation 
scheme, the membership of which is now closed. The asset for the 
defined benefit plan at 31 December 2015 was US$13 million  
(2014: US$14 million liability).

(b) Compensation of key management personnel 
Key management personnel (KMP) compensation for the financial 
year is as follows:

2015
US$

2014
US$

Short-term employee benefits

12,202,619

14,435,970 

(c) Share plans
The Group provides benefits to its employees (including key 
management personnel) in the form of share-based payments 
whereby employees render services for shares (equity-settled 
transactions).

Woodside equity plan (WEP) and supplementary Woodside  
equity plan (SWEP)
WEP is available to all Australian-based employees including 
executives, other than the CEO and any executive directors. The 
number of Equity Rights (ERs) offered to each eligible employee will 
be calculated with reference to salary and performance. The linking 
of performance to an allocation allows the Group to recognise and 
reward eligible employees for high performance. The ERs have no 
further ongoing performance conditions after allocation, and do not 
require participants to make any payment in respect of the ERs at 
grant or at vesting. SWEP is available to a number of employees 
identified as being retention critical. Participants do not make any 
payment in respect of the ERs at grant or at vesting. Each ER entitles 
the participant to receive a Woodside share on the vesting date three 
years after the grant date.

399 

557 

779 

453 

684 

824 

Post employment benefits

Share-based payments

Long-term employee benefits

1,735 

1,961 

Termination benefits

312,647

134,409 

7,084,981

4,180,339 

250,114

-

115,211 

519,090 

19,850,361

19,385,019 

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015E.3  Employee benefits (cont.)
Executive incentive plans (EIP)

Short term awards (STA)
Restricted shares (from 2012) and time-tested Variable Pay Rights 
(VPRs) (prior to 2012) are delivered in the form of restricted shares 
to executives, including all executive KMP. Restricted shares entitle 
their holder to receive dividends. There are no further performance 
conditions for vesting of deferred STA. Participants are not required 
to make any payments in respect of STA awards at grant or  
at vesting. 

Long term awards (LTA)
LTA is granted in the form of VPRs to executives, including 
all executive KMP. Vesting of LTA is subject to achievement 
of relative total shareholder return (RTSR) targets, with 33% 
measured against the ASX 50 and the remaining 67% tested 
against an international group of oil and gas companies. Subject to 
performance, LTA may vest after a four-year performance period. 
If any of the LTA does not vest it will be re-tested on the fifth 
anniversary, but will only vest if RTSR exceeds the ranking achieved 
in the prior year and is at or above the median of the relevant 
comparator group. Participants are not required to make any 
payments in respect of LTA awards at grant or at vesting.

Recognition and measurement
All compensation under WEP, SWEP and executive share plans is 
accounted for as share-based payments to employees for services 
provided. The cost of equity-settled transactions with employees is 
measured by reference to the fair values of the equity instruments 
at the date at which they are granted. The fair value of share-
based payments is recognised, together with the corresponding 
increase in equity, over the period in which the vesting conditions 
are fulfilled, ending on the date on which the relevant employee 
becomes fully entitled to the shares. At each balance sheet date, 
the Group reassesses the number of awards that are expected to 
vest based on service conditions. The expense recognised each 
year takes into account the most recent estimate.

The fair value of the benefit provided for the WEP, SWEP and time-
tested variable pay rights are estimated using the Black-Scholes 
option pricing technique. The fair value of the restricted shares is 
estimated as the closing share price at grant date. The fair value of 
the benefit provided for the RTSR variable pay rights was estimated 
using the Binomial or Black-Scholes option pricing technique 
combined with a Monte Carlo simulation methodology, where 
relevant using historical volatility to estimate the volatility of the 
share price in the future.

The number of performance rights and movements for all share plans are summarised as follows:

Year ended 31 December 2015

Opening balance

Granted during the year1,2

Vested during the year

Forfeited during the year

Performance rights at 31 December 2015

Fair value of rights granted during the year

Year ended 31 December 2014

Opening balance

Granted during the year 1,2

Vested during the year

Forfeited during the year

Performance rights at 31 December 2014

Fair value of rights granted during the year

Number of performance rights

Employee plans

Executive plans

WEP

SWEP

STA

LTA

6,286,402 

1,974,741 

(1,603,731)

(540,572)

6,116,840 

38,270 

626,123 

2,232,777 

-

-

-

267,645 

(78,417)

(31,081)

610,410 

(154,143)

(322,764)

38,270 

784,270 

2,366,280 

US$m

US$m

US$m

US$m

36 

-

8 

11 

Number of performance rights

Employee plans

Executive plans

WEP

SWEP

STA

LTA

5,998,321 

2,016,678 

(1,262,072)

(466,525)

6,286,402 

-

52,620 

-

(14,350)

38,270 

456,867 

264,300 

(42,256)

(52,788)

1,885,443 

623,872 

-

(276,538)

626,123 

2,232,777 

US$m

US$m

US$m

US$m

63 

2 

9 

11 

1.  For the purpose of valuation, the share price on grant date for the 2015 WEP and SWEP allocations was US$20.89 (2014: US$35.62).
2.  For the purpose of valuation, the share price on grant date for the 2015 STA and LTA allocations was US$31.15 (2014: US$34.80).

For more detail on these share plans and performance rights issued to KMPs, refer to the Remuneration Report included in the Directors’ 
Report (pages 52 to 69).

(d) CEO sign-on incentive shares

Mr Coleman gave up certain rights with his former employer to join Woodside as CEO. To recognise these interests, he was paid a one-off 
sign-on incentive. Woodside acquired Woodside shares to the value of US$3 million to be held in trust for Mr Coleman. The final tranche of 
these shares vested on 30 May 2014.

99

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTJoint arrangements
E.7 
(a) Interest percentage in joint operations

Producing and developing assets

Oceania

North West Shelf

Enfield and Vincent

Laminaria-Corallina

Stybarrow

Balnaves

Pluto

Wheatstone

Exploration and evaluation assets

Oceania

Browse Basin 

Carnarvon Basin 

Bonaparte Basin

Outer Canning Basin

New Zealand

Africa

Morocco

Gabon

Cameroon

The Americas

Peru

Kitimat1

Nova Scotia

Asia

Republic of Korea

Myanmar

Europe

Ireland

Canary Islands 

Group interest %

2015

2014

12.5 - 50.0

12.5 - 50.0

60.0 

60.0 

59.9 - 66.7

59.9 - 66.7

50.0 

65.0 

90.0 

13.0 - 65.0

50.0 

-

90.0 

-

30.6 - 75.0

17.0 - 75.0

15.8 - 75.0

15.8 - 90.0

26.7 - 35.0

26.7 - 35.0

55.0 

70.0 

43.9 - 55.0

70.0 

25.0 - 75.0

25.0 - 75.0

40.0 

30.0 

35.0 

50.0 

20.0 

40.0

-

35.0

-

-

50.0

50.0

40.0 - 55.0

40.0 - 50.0

60.0 - 90.0

60.0 - 90.0

30.0

30.0

1.  On 10 April 2015, Woodside Energy International (Canada) Limited 

acquired a 50% interest in Pacific Trail Pipelines Management Inc. and a 
50% interest in Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership. The remaining 
50% interests are held by Chevron Canada Limited.

The principal activities of the joint operations above are exploration, 
development and production of hydrocarbons. There were no 
permits and/or licence areas as at 31 December 2015 which  
were subject to government and regulatory approval.

E.4  Related party transactions
(a) Transactions with related parties
The following table provides the total amount of transactions that 
were entered into with related parties for the 2014 financial year. 
Royal Dutch Shell Group (Shell Group) is no longer deemed a 
related party effective from 17 June 2014. We continue to transact 
with Shell at an arm’s length basis. The transactions disclosed 
below relate to transactions that occurred when Shell Group was 
deemed a related party:

Transactions with related parties

Sales to
US$m

Purchases 
from
US$m

Receivables 
from
US$m

Payables to Commitments

US$m

US$m

Entities with significant influence over the Group:

Royal Dutch Shell Group (Shell Group)

Shell Company of Australia

2014

-

25

Other members of Shell Group

2014

38

4

-

-

-

-

-

-

(b) Terms and conditions of transactions with related parties
Sales to and purchases from related parties were made at arm’s 
length on normal market prices and on normal commercial terms.

(c) Transactions with directors
There were no transactions with directors during the year other 
than those disclosed in Note E.3(b). During the prior year, as part of 
the CEO’s relocation costs, A$200,000 was paid in connection with 
transfer duty in Western Australia.

E.5  Auditor remuneration
The auditor of Woodside Petroleum Ltd is Ernst & Young (EY)

2015
US$'000

2014
US$'000

(a) Amounts received or due and receivable for an audit or review of 
the financial report of the entity and any other entity in the Group by:

EY Australia

Other EY firms

1,532 

143 

1,675 

1,359 

73 

1,432 

(b) Amounts received or due and receivable for non-audit services in 
relation to the entity or any other entity in the Group by:

EY Australia for other assurance services

EY Australia for other advisory services

EY Australia for taxation services

Other EY firms for other assurance 
services

742 

400 

139 

3 

440 

400 

214 

-

1,284 

1,054 

E.6  Events after the end of the 

reporting period

As announced to the market on 1 February 2016, subsequent 
to the year end, the Group was advised by the operator of the 
Wheatstone Project that the forecast for first LNG is now mid-
2017. This revised schedule was incorporated in the impairment 
assessment of the Wheatstone CGU as discussed in Note B.4. 

On 10 February 2016, Woodside Energy Shipping Singapore Pte Ltd 
entered into two 15-year shipping vessel charters for $779 million. 
The ships are due for delivery in 2016 and 2017.

100

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Joint arrangements (cont.)

E.7 
(b) Interest percentage in joint ventures

E.8  Parent entity information

Group interest %

Entity 

Principal activity

2015

2014

Woodside Petroleum Ltd

North West Shelf 
Gas Pty Ltd

Marketing services for 
ventures in the sale of gas 
to the domestic market. 

North West Shelf 
Liaison Company 
Pty Ltd

Liaison for ventures in 
the sale of LNG to the 
Japanese market. 

 16.67 

 16.67 

Current assets

 16.67 

 16.67 

Non-current assets

Current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Net assets

China Administration 
Company Pty Ltd 
(formerly North West 
Shelf Australia LNG)

North West Shelf 
Shipping Service 
Company Pty Ltd

Marketing services for 
ventures in the sale of LNG 
to international markets. 

 16.67 

 16.67 

LNG vessel fleet advise. 

 16.67 

 16.67 

Recognition and measurement 
Joint arrangements are arrangements of which two or more parties 
have joint control. Joint control is the contractual agreed sharing of 
control of the arrangement which exists only when decisions about 
the relevant activities require unanimous consent of the parties sharing 
control. Joint arrangements are classified as either a joint operation 
or joint venture, based on the rights and obligations arising from the 
contractual obligations between the parties to the arrangement.

To the extent the joint arrangement provides the Group with 
rights to the individual assets and obligations arising from the joint 
arrangement, the arrangement is classified as a joint operation and 
as such the Group recognises its:
 ƒ assets, including its share of any assets held jointly;
 ƒ  liabilities, including its share of any liabilities incurred jointly;
 ƒ  revenue from the sale of its share of the output arising from  

the joint operation; 

 ƒ  share of revenue from the sale of the output by the joint 

operation; and

 ƒ  expenses, including its share of any expenses incurred jointly.

To the extent the joint arrangement provides the Group with rights 
to the net assets of the arrangement, the investment is classified 
as a joint venture and accounted for using the equity method. 

Key estimates and judgements

Accounting for interests in other entities
Judgement is required in assessing the level of control 
obtained in a transaction to acquire an interest in another 
entity; depending upon the facts and circumstances in each 
case, Woodside may obtain control, joint control or significant 
influence over the entity or arrangement. Judgement is applied 
when determining the relevant activities of a project and if joint 
control is held over them. Relevant activities include, but are 
not limited to, work program and budget approval, investment 
decision approval, voting rights in joint operating committees, 
amendments to permits and changes to joint arrangement 
participant holdings. Transactions which give Woodside control of 
a business are business combinations. If Woodside obtains joint 
control of an arrangement, judgement is also required to assess 
whether the arrangement is a joint operation or a joint venture. 
If Woodside has neither control nor joint control, it may be in a 
position to exercise significant influence over the entity, which is 
then accounted for as an associate.

The Group’s interest in Pacific Trail Pipelines Management Inc. 
and Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership were assessed 
to be joint operations based upon the underlying draft joint 
operating agreement for the Kitimat project.

2015

2014
US$m US$m

373 

128 

7,073 

7,512 

-

(368)

7,078 

(271)

(355)

7,014 

6,547 

6,547 

(27)

129 

296 

133 

(38)

121 

303 

81 

7,078 

7,014 

1,783 

1,842 

1,776 

1,842 

Issued and fully paid shares

Shares reserved for employee share plans

Employee benefits reserve

Foreign currency translation reserve

Retained earnings

Total Shareholder Equity

Profit of parent entity

Total comprehensive income of parent entity

Guarantees
Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Woodside Energy Ltd (a subsidiary 
company) are parties to a Deed of Cross Guarantee as disclosed 
in Note E.9. The effect of the Deed is that Woodside Petroleum 
Ltd has guaranteed to pay any deficiency in the event of winding 
up of the subsidiary company under certain provisions of the 
Corporations Act 2001. The subsidiary company has also given 
a similar guarantee in the event that Woodside Petroleum Ltd is 
wound up.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd has guaranteed the discharge by a 
subsidiary company of its financial obligations under debt facilities 
disclosed in Note C.3. Woodside Petroleum Ltd has guaranteed 
certain obligations of subsidiaries to unrelated parties on behalf of 
their performance in contracts. No liabilities are expected to arise 
from these guarantees.

101

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTE.9  Subsidiaries 
(a) Subsidiaries

Name of entity

Parent entity

Woodside Petroleum Ltd

Subsidiaries

Company name

Woodside Energy Ltd

Woodside Browse Pty Ltd
Woodside Burrup Pty Ltd

Burrup Facilities Company Pty Ltd
Pluto LNG Pty Ltd
Burrup Train 1 Pty Ltd

Woodside Energy (Algeria) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy Australia Asia Holdings Pte Ltd 
Woodside Energy (Carbon Capture) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy Holdings International Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy Mediterranean Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy International (Canada) Limited 

Woodside Energy (Canada LNG) Limited 
Woodside Energy (Canada PTP) Limited 
KM LNG Operating General Partnership 

KM LNG Operating Ltd 

Woodside Energy Holdings Pty Ltd

Woodside Energy Holdings (USA) Inc. 

Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. 

Gryphon Exploration Company 
Woodside Energy (Cameroon) SARL 
Woodside Energy (Gabon) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (Ireland) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (Korea) Pte Ltd 
Woodside Energy (Myanmar) Pte Ltd 
Woodside Energy (Morocco) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (New Zealand) Limited 
Woodside Energy (New Zealand 55794) Limited 
Woodside Energy (Peru) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (Tanzania) Limited 

Woodside Energy Holdings (South America) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energia (Brasil) Investimento em  
Exploracao de Petroleo Ltda. 
Woodside Energy Holdings (UK) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (UK) Limited 

Woodside Energy (France) SAS 
Woodside Energy Iberia S.A. 
Woodside Energy (N.A.) Ltd 

Woodside Energy Julimar Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (Kenya) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (M.E.) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy Middle East and Africa Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (Norway) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy (SL) Pty Ltd
Woodside Energy Technologies Pty Ltd

Woodside Energy Trading Singapore Pte Ltd 

WelCap Insurance Pte Ltd 
Woodside Energy Shipping Singapore Pte Ltd 

Woodside Guangdong Shipping (One) Pty Ltd
Woodside Guangdong Shipping (Two) Pty Ltd

102

(1,2,3)

(2,3,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(5)
(5)
(5)
(2,4)

(4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)

(4,11)

(4)

(4,10)

(4,8,10)

(4,10)
(2,4)

(4)

(4)

(4)

(4)
(2,4)
(2,4)

(4)

(4)
(2,4)

(4)

(4)
(2,4)

(6)
(2,4,7)

(7)
(2,4)

(4)

(4,9)

(4)

(4)
 (2,4,10)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)

(4)

(4)

(4)
(2,4)
(2,4)

Name of entity

Note

Subsidiaries

Company name (cont):

   Woodside West Africa Pty Ltd
   Metasource Pty Ltd
Woodside Finance Limited
Woodside Petroleum (Northern Operations) Pty Ltd
Woodside Petroleum (Timor Sea 19) Pty Ltd
Woodside Petroleum (Timor Sea 20) Pty Ltd
Woodside Petroleum (W.A. Oil) Pty Ltd
Woodside Petroleum Holdings Pty Ltd
Mermaid Sound Port and Marine Services Pty Ltd

Note

(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)
(2,4)

1. Woodside Petroleum Ltd is the ultimate holding company and the head 

entity within the tax consolidated group.

2.

These companies were members of the tax consolidated group as at 
31 December 2015.

3. Pursuant to ASIC Class Order 98/1418, relief has been granted to the 

controlled entity, Woodside Energy Ltd, from the Corporations Act 2001 
(Cth) requirements for the preparation, audit and publication of accounts. 
As a condition of the Class Order, Woodside Petroleum Ltd and 
Woodside Energy Ltd are parties to a Deed of Cross Guarantee.

4. All subsidiaries are wholly owned except those referred to in  

Notes 5,6,7 and 8.

5. Kansai Electric Power Australia Pty Ltd and Tokyo Gas Pluto Pty Ltd 

each hold 5% of the shares in these companies. These companies are 
deemed to be controlled.

6. As at 31 December 2015, Woodside Energy Holdings Pty Ltd held a 

99.99% interest in Woodside Energy (Tanzania) Limited and Woodside 
Energy Ltd held the remaining 0.01% interest.

7. As at 31 December 2015, Woodside Energy Holdings (South America) 

Pty Ltd held a 99.99% interest in Woodside Energia (Brasil) Investimento 
em Exploracao de Petroleo Ltda and Woodside Energy Ltd held the 
remaining 0.01% interest.

8. As at 31 December 2015, Woodside Energy International (Canada) 

Limited and Woodside Energy (Canada LNG) Limited were the general 
partners of the KM LNG Operating General Partnership holding a 99.99% 
and 0.01% partnership interest respectively.

9.

These entities were incorporated during the reporting period.

10. These entities were acquired during the reporting period.

11. During the reporting period, Woodside Energy International (Canada) 
Limited acquired a 50% interest in each of Pacific Trail Pipelines 
Management Inc. and the Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership. 
The remaining 50% interest in each of these entities is held by Chevron 
Canada Limited. 

All subsidiaries incorporated in Australia unless identified with one 
of the following symbols:

 Brazil
 Cameroon
 Canada
 France

 New Zealand
 Singapore

Spain
 Tanzania

 UK
 USA

Recognition and measurement
Subsidiaries are all the entities over which the Group has the power 
over the investee such that the Group is able to direct the relevant 
activities, has exposure, or rights, no variable returns from its 
involvement with the investee and has the ability to use its power 
over the investee to affect the amount of the investor’s returns.

(b) Subsidiaries with material non-controlling interests
The Group has two Australian subsidiaries with material 
non-controlling interests (NCI). 

Name of entity

Principal place 
of business

NCI held

Burrup Facilities Company Pty Ltd

Burrup Train 1 Pty Ltd

Australia

Australia

10%

10%

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015E.9  Subsidiaries (cont.)
The NCI in both subsidiaries is 10% held by the same parties  
(refer to footnote 5 above for details). 

The summarised financial information (including consolidation 
adjustments but before intercompany eliminations) of subsidiaries 
with material NCI is as follows:

Burrup Facilities Company Pty Ltd 

Current assets 

Non-current assets 

Current liabilities 

Non-current liabilities 

Net assets 

Accumulated balance of NCI 

Revenue 

Profit 

Profit allocated to NCI 

Dividends paid to NCI 

Operating  

Investing 

Financing 

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash 
equivalents 

Burrup Train 1 Pty Ltd 

Current assets 

Non-current assets 

Current liabilities 

Non-current liabilities 

Net assets 

2015
 US$m 

2014
 US$m 

579

 123 

 5,343 

 5,461 

 (431)

 (427)

 (283)

 (336)

 5,064 

 4,965 

 506 

 497 

 1,076 

 1,212 

 533 

 53 

 (44)

 619 

 62 

 (29)

 813 

 1,002 

 (10)

 (18)

 (803)

 (984)

 - 

 - 

483

 194 

3,151

 3,205 

 (395)

 (305)

 (307)

 (235)

 2,934 

 2,857 

The consolidated income statement and statement of financial 
position of the members of the Closed Group are set out below:

Closed Group Consolidated Income Statement 
and Statement of Retained Earnings
Profit before tax
Taxes

Profit after tax

Retained earnings at the beginning of the  
financial year
Dividends

2015

2014
US$m US$m

157
(56)

1,349 
(304)

101

1,045 

5,637 
(1,730)

6,356 
(1,764)

Retained earnings at the end of the financial year

4,008 

5,637 

Closed Group Consolidated Statement of 
Financial Position
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Receivables
Inventories
Tax receivable
Other assets

Assets held for sale

Total current assets

Non-current assets
Receivables
Inventories
Other financial assets
Exploration and evaluation assets
Oil and gas properties

Other plant and equipment

Deferred tax assets

Total non-current assets

Accumulated balance of NCI 

 293 

 286 

Total assets

Revenue 

Profit 

Profit allocated to NCI 

Dividends paid to NCI 

Operating  

Investing 

Financing 

 1,796 

 1,990 

 337 

 34 

 (27)

 519 

 (16)

 402 

 40 

 (23)

 641 

 (25)

Current liabilities
Payables
Tax payable
Other financial liabilities
Other liabilities
Provisions
Liabilities held for sale

 (503)

 (616)

Total current liabilities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash 
equivalents 

 - 

 - 

(c) Deed of Cross Guarantee and Closed Group
Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Woodside Energy Ltd are parties to a 
Deed of Cross Guarantee under which each company guarantees 
the debts of the other. By entering into the Deed, the entities have 
been granted relief from the Corporations Act 2001 requirements 
for the preparation, audit and publication of accounts, pursuant to 
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Class 
Order 98/1418. The two entities represent a Closed Group for the 
purposes of the Class Order.

Non-current liabilities
Payables
Deferred tax liabilities
Other financial liabilities

Other liabilities

Provisions

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

Equity
Issued and fully paid shares
Shares reserved for employee share plans
Other reserves

Retained earnings

Total equity

99 
882 
59 
182 
-

145 

93 
934 
120 
-
30 

-

1,367 

1,177 

-
6 
24,896 
879 
3,476 

4 
11 
19,414 
964 
4,235 

72 

79 

30 
29,359 

107 
24,814 

30,726 

25,991 

396 
-
21 
47 
131 
156 

751

371 
300 
18 
73 
184 
-

946 

17,208 
364 
11 

10,178 
430 
10 

92 

122 

936 

1,349 

18,611 

12,089 

19,362 

13,035 

6,547 
(27)
836 

6,547 
(38)
810 

4,008 

5,637 

11,364 

12,956 

103

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTSNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTE.10  Other accounting policies
(a) Summary of other significant accounting policies

Derivative financial instruments 

Derivatives embedded in the Group’s contracts that change  
the nature of a host contract’s risk and are not clearly and  
closely related to the host contract are initially recognised at  
fair value on the date the contract is entered into. Subsequent  
fair value movements of the derivative are recognised in the 
income statement.

Financial guarantees

Financial guarantee contracts issued by the Group are those 
contracts that require a payment to be made to reimburse  
the holder for a loss it incurs because the specified debtor fails to 
make a payment when due in accordance with the terms of a debt 
instrument. Financial guarantee contracts are recognised initially 
as a liability at fair value, adjusted for transaction costs that are 
directly attributable to the issuance of the guarantee. Subsequently, 
the liability is measured at the higher of the best estimate of the 
expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the reporting 
date and the amount recognised less cumulative amortisation.

Tax consolidation

The parent and its wholly owned Australian controlled entities have 
elected to enter tax consolidation, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd as 
the head entity of the tax consolidated group. The members of the 
tax consolidated group are identified at Note E.9.

The tax expense/(benefit), deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax 
assets arising from temporary differences of the members of the 
tax consolidated group are recognised in the separate financial 
statements of the members of the tax consolidated group, using 
the stand alone approach. 

Entities within the tax consolidated group have entered into a tax 
funding arrangement and a tax sharing agreement with the head 
entity. Under the tax funding agreement, Woodside Petroleum Ltd 
and each of the entities in the tax consolidated group have agreed 
to pay or receive a tax equivalent payment to or from the head 
entity, based on the current tax liability or current tax asset of  
the entity. 

The tax sharing agreement entered into between members of 
the tax consolidated group provides for the determination of the 
allocation of income tax liabilities between the entities, should the 
head entity default on its tax payment obligations. No amounts 
have been recognised in the financial statements in respect of 
this agreement as payment of any amounts under the tax sharing 
agreement is considered remote. 

(b) New and amended standards and interpretations issued  
but not yet effective

A number of new standards, amendment of standards and 
interpretations have recently been issued but are not yet effective 
and have not been adopted by the Group as at the financial 
reporting date.

The Group has reviewed these standards and interpretations, and 
with the exception of the items listed below for which the final 
impact is yet to be determined, none of the new or amended 
standards will significantly affect the Group’s accounting policies, 
financial position or performance.

Title

Application date of the 
standard

Summary

AASB 2014-3 Amendments 
to Australian Accounting 
Standards – Accounting  
for Acquisitions of Interests  
in Joint Operations  
(AASB 1 & AASB 11)

Periods beginning on or after 
1 January 2016

AASB 11 Joint Arrangements now provides guidance on the accounting 
for acquisitions of interests in joint operations in which the activity 
constitutes a business.

The impact of this change to the Group is that such acquisitions will be 
accounted for as business combinations and not asset acquisitions. 

AASB 9 Financial Instruments Periods beginning on or after 

1 January 2018

AASB 15 Revenue from 
Contracts with Customers

Periods beginning on or after 
1 January 2018

IFRS 16 Leases

Periods beginning on or after 
1 January 2019

A finalised version of AASB 9 which contains accounting requirements 
for financial instruments, replacing AASB 139 Financial Instruments: 
Recognition and Measurement. The standard contains requirements 
in the areas of classification and measurement, impairment, hedge 
accounting and derecognition. 

AASB 15 provides a single, principles-based five-step model to  
be applied to all contracts with customers. Guidance is provided on 
topics such as the point in which revenue is recognised, accounting  
for variable consideration, costs of fulfilling and obtaining a contract  
and various related matters. New disclosures about revenue are  
also introduced. 

IFRS 16 provides a new lessee accounting model which requires a 
lessee to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases with a term of 
more than 12 months, unless the underlying asset is of low value.  
A lessee measures right-of-use assets similarly to other non-financial 
assets and lease liabilities similarly to other financial liabilities. Assets 
and liabilities arising from a lease are initially measured on a present 
value basis. The measurement includes non-cancellable lease payments 
(including inflation-linked payments), and also includes payments to be 
made in optional periods if the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise 
an option to extend the lease, or not to exercise an option to terminate 
the lease. IFRS 16 contains disclosure requirements for lessees.

104

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONNOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS E: Other items for the year ended 31 December 2015WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015DIRECTORS’ DECLARATION

In accordance with a resolution of directors of Woodside Petroleum Ltd, we state that:

1. 

In the opinion of the directors:

(a)  the financial statements and notes thereto, and the disclosures included in the audited 2015 Remuneration Report, comply 

with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001;

(b)  the financial statements and notes thereto give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Group as at  
31 December 2015 and of the performance of the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2015;

(c)  the financial statements and notes thereto also comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as disclosed in 

the ‘About this report’ section within the notes to the 2015 Financial Report;

(d)  there are reasonable grounds to believe that the company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and 

payable; and

(e)  there are reasonable grounds to believe that the members of the Closed Group identified in Note E.9 will be able to meet any 

obligations or liabilities which they are or may become subject to, by virtue of the Deed of Cross Guarantee.

2.  This declaration has been made after receiving the declarations required to be made to the directors in accordance with  

section 295A of the Corporations Act 2001 for the year ended 31 December 2015.

For and on behalf of the Board

M A Chaney, AO
Chairman  
Perth, Western Australia

P J Coleman 
Chief Executive Officer and  
Managing Director 
Perth, Western Australia

17 February 2016

17 February 2016

105

FINANCIAL REPORTWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD FINANCIAL REPORTINDEPENDENT AUDIT REPORT

Independent auditor’s report to the members of Woodside Petroleum Ltd

Report on the financial report

We have audited the accompanying financial report of Woodside Petroleum Ltd, which comprises the consolidated statement of 
financial position as at 31 December 2015, the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive 
income, the consolidated statement of changes in equity and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year then ended, 
notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and the directors’ declaration of the 
consolidated entity comprising the Company and the entities it controlled at the year’s end or from time to time during the financial 
year.

Directors’ responsibility for the financial report
The directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in accordance 
with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Act 2001 and for such internal controls as the directors determine are 
necessary to enable the preparation of the financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.  
In the notes to the financial statements, the directors also state, in accordance with Accounting Standard AASB 101 Presentation of 
Financial Statements, that the financial statements comply with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Auditor’s responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance 
with Australian Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit 
engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report is free from material 
misstatement. 

An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The 
procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the 
financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal controls relevant to 
the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the 
circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal controls. An audit also 
includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the 
directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report. 

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Independence
In conducting our audit we have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. We have given to the 
directors of the company a written Auditor’s Independence Declaration, a copy of which is included in the Directors’ Report.

Opinion
In our opinion: 

a.  the financial report of Woodside Petroleum Ltd is in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including: 

i   giving a true and fair view of the consolidated entity’s financial position as at 31 December 2015 and of its performance  

for the year ended on that date; and 

ii  complying with Australian Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001; and 

b.  the financial report also complies with International Financial Reporting Standards as disclosed in the notes to the financial 

statements.

Report on the remuneration report

We have audited the remuneration report included in pages 52 to 69 of the Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 December 2015. 
The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation and presentation of the remuneration report in accordance with 
section 300A of the Corporations Act 2001. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the remuneration report, based on our audit 
conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards.

Opinion
In our opinion, the remuneration report of Woodside Petroleum Ltd for the year ended 31 December 2015, complies with section 
300A of the Corporations Act 2001.

Ernst & Young

106

R J Curtin, Partner
Perth, Western Australia
17 February 2016

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015As at 12 February 2016

SHAREHOLDER STATISTICS

Number of shareholdings
There were 226,268 shareholders. All issued shares carry voting rights on a one for one basis.

Distribution of shareholdings

Size of shareholding

1 - 1,000

1,001 - 5,000

5,001 - 10,000

10,001 - 100,000

100,001 and over

Total

Number of  
holders

Number of  

shares

% of issued 
capital

165,658

53,766

4,717

2,030

97

226,268

64,672,143

109,497,510

32,709,995

40,962,737

576,068,272

823,910,657

7.85

13.29

3.97

4.97

69.92

100.00*

*Small differences are due to rounding.

Unmarketable parcels
There were 3,417 members holding less than a marketable parcel of shares in the company.

Twenty largest shareholders

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited

Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited

J P Morgan Nominees Australia Limited

National Nominees Limited

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited

BNP Paribas Noms Pty Ltd 

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited 

BNP Paribas Nominees Pty Ltd 

Citicorp Nominees Pty Limited 

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited 

Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited

Pacific Custodians Pty Limited 

Network Investment Holdings Pty Ltd

RBC Investor Services Australia Nominees Pty Limited 

AMP Life Limited

UBS Wealth Management Australia Nominees Pty Ltd

Argo Investments Limited

Navigator Australia Ltd 

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited - A/C 2

National Nominees Limited 

Total

Shares held

156,170,060

111,847,852

106,833,484

62,637,897

59,773,014

13,171,660

6,153,510

5,265,243

4,141,924

3,577,399

3,282,886

3,225,696

3,027,570

2,153,594

2,098,600

1,954,390

1,700,873

1,657,147

1,478,719

1,312,150

% of issued 
capital

18.95

13.58

12.97

7.60

7.25

1.60

0.75

0.64

0.50

0.43

0.40

0.39

0.37

0.26

0.25

0.24

0.21

0.20

0.18

0.16

551,463,668

66.93

Substantial shareholders as disclosed in substantial shareholder notices given to the company are as follows:

Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited#

111,847,852

13.58

#Shell Energy Holdings Australia Limited’s most recent notice of change of interests of substantial shareholder was given on 23 June 2014. 

107

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONAnnual General Meeting 

Dividend payments

Change of address or banking details

Woodside declares its dividends in 
US dollars as it is our functional and 
presentation currency. Woodside pays 
its dividends in Australian dollars unless 
a shareholder’s registered address is in 
the United Kingdom (UK) where they are 
paid in UK pounds sterling, or in the United 
States of America (USA) where they are 
paid in US dollars.

Shareholders who reside outside of the 
USA can elect to receive their dividend in 
US dollars, payable into a USA financial 
institutional account. Shareholders must 
make an election to alter their dividend 
currency by the business day after the 
record date for the dividend by contacting 
the share registry on 1300 558 507  
(within Australia) or +61 3 9415 4632 
(outside Australia).

Shareholders may have their dividends 
paid directly into any bank or building 
society account in Australia, the USA, 
or the UK. Payments are electronically 
credited on the dividend payment date and 
confirmed by payment advice. To request 
direct crediting of dividend payments, 
please contact the share registry or  
visit the share registry website  
(www.investorcentre.com/wpl).

 The history of dividends paid by the company 
can be found on the company’s website.

Dividend reinvestment plan

Shareholders with registered addresses 
in Australia and New Zealand can elect 
to participate in Woodside’s dividend 
reinvestment plan and have the dividends 
on some or all of their shares automatically 
reinvested in additional shares. Information 
on the dividend reinvestment plan is 
available on the company’s website. 
Election forms are available from the 
company's website or from the share 
registry.

The 2016 Annual General Meeting (AGM) 
of Woodside Petroleum Ltd will be held 
at 10.00 am (AWST) on 21 April 2016, at 
the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre, 
21 Mounts Bay Road, Perth, Western 
Australia. Details of the business of the 
meeting will be provided in the AGM 
notice. 

The AGM will be webcast live on the 
internet. An archive version of the webcast 
will be placed on the Woodside website to 
enable the proceedings to be viewed at a 
later time. 

  Copies of the Chairman’s and the CEO’s 
speeches will be available on the company’s 
website.

Share registry: Enquiries

Investors seeking information about 
their shareholdings should contact the 
company’s share registry:

Computershare Investor  
Services Pty Limited

Level 11, 172 St Georges Terrace 
Perth, Western Australia 6000

Postal address: GPO Box D182 
Perth, Western Australia 6840

Telephone: 1300 558 507 (within Australia)

+61 3 9415 4632 (outside Australia)

Facsimile: +61 3 9473 2500 

Email: web.queries@computershare.com.au 
Website: www.investorcentre.com/wpl

The share registry can assist with queries 
on share transfers, dividend payments, the 
dividend reinvestment plan, notification 
of tax file numbers and changes of name, 
address or bank account details. 

  Details of shareholdings can be checked 
conveniently and simply by visiting the share 
registry website at  
www.investorcentre.com/wpl

For security reasons, you will need your 
Security Reference Number (SRN) or 
Holder Identification Number (HIN) when 
communicating with the share registry. 

The share registry website allows 
shareholders to make changes to address 
and banking details online. 

Shareholders should immediately notify 
the share registry of any change to their 
address or banking arrangements for 
dividends electronically credited to a bank 
account. 

  Changes can be made online  
at the share registry website  
www.investorcentre.com/wpl

Australian Securities Exchange 
listing

Woodside Petroleum Ltd securities are 
listed on the ASX under the code WPL. 

  Share price information can be accessed on 
the company’s website.

American Depositary Receipts 

Citbank (Citi) sponsors a level one 
American Depositary Receipts (ADR) 
program in the USA. One Woodside 
share equals one ADR and trades over the 
counter under the symbol ‘WOPEY’.

ADR holders should deal directly with  
Citi on all matters related to their ADRs. 

Enquiries should be directed to:
Citibank Shareholder Services
P.O. Box 43077
Providence, Rhode Island 02940-3077

Contact information

USA Toll Free Number: 1-877-CITI-ADR 

Number for international callers:  
1-781-575-4555 

Fax: 1-201-324-3284

E-mail: Citibank@shareholders-online.com

Investor Relations: Enquiries

Requests for specific information on  
the company can be directed to Investor 
Relations at:

Investor Relations 
Woodside Petroleum Ltd 
Woodside Plaza 
240 St Georges Terrace, 
Perth, WA 6000

Postal address: GPO Box D188 
Perth, WA 6840

Telephone: +61 8 9348 4000 
Facsimile: +61 8 9214 2777

Email: investor@woodside.com.au 
Website: www.woodside.com.au

108

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015BUSINESS 
DIRECTORY
Registered office Perth
Woodside Petroleum Ltd
240 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA 6000 
Telephone: +61 8 9348 4000
Postal address: GPO Box D188
Perth, WA 6840

Broome
29 Coghlan Street, Broome, WA 6725
Telephone: 1800 036 654

Karratha 
3747 Balmoral Road, Karratha, WA 6714
Telephone: 1800 634 988

KEY ANNOUNCEMENTS 2015
February

March

April

May

June

July

Woodside achieves full-year profit of US$2.414 billion
Woodside signs production sharing contracts for Myanmar 
offshore acreage
Woodside closes purchase of Apache interests in Australian assets

Gas discovery at Pyxis-1

Woodside closes purchase of Apache interests in Kitimat asset

Corpus Christi liquefaction LLC conditions satisfied

Woodside to investigate LNG Development in Texas

FEED phase entered for Browse FLNG Development

September

Woodside proposal to Oil Search Limited

December

Woodside withdraws proposal to merge with Oil Search Limited

North West Shelf Project Approves Development of GWF-2 Project

EVENTS CALENDAR 2016
Key calendar dates for Woodside shareholders in 2016. 
Please note dates are subject to review.

January

February

21

17

Fourth quarter 2015 report

2015 full-year result and final dividend 
announcement

22

Ex-dividend date for final dividend

24 Record date for final dividend

April

8

Payment date for final dividend

19 Annual General Meeting (AGM) proxy returns 

May

June

July

August

close at 10.00 am (AWST)

20

First quarter 2016 report

21 AGM

20

Investor Briefing day – Sydney

30 Woodside half-year end

21

19

Second quarter 2016 report

2016 half-year result and interim dividend 
announcement

TBA Ex-dividend date for interim dividend

TBA Record date for interim dividend

September

TBA Payment date for interim dividend

October

20

Third quarter 2016 report

December

31 Woodside year end

109

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONGLOSSARY, UNITS OF MEASURE AND CONVERSION FACTORS
Glossary

$, $m
1P
2C
2P
AGM

Appraisal well

ASX
AUD

Break-even cash cost 
of sales

Brent

Condensate

Cps 

Crude oil

Development well
DRP
EEP
EPS

Exploration licence

Farm in

FEED

FEL
FID

First half, second half

Flaring

FLNG
FPSO

US dollars unless otherwise stated, millions of dollars
Proved reserves 
Best estimate of contingent resources
Proved plus Probable reserves 
Annual General Meeting
A well drilled to follow up a discovery and evaluate its commercial 
potential
Australian Securities Exchange
Australian dollars

Break-even cash cost of sales includes production costs, 
royalty and excise, shipping and direct sales costs, carbon costs 
and insurance; excludes exploration and evaluation, general 
administrative and other costs, depletion, depreciation and 
amortisation, PRRT and income tax

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Brent Crude deliverable futures 
contract (oil price)
Hydrocarbons, which are gaseous in a reservoir, but which 
condense to form liquids as they rise to the surface
Cents per share
Oil that is produced from a reservoir after any associated gas has 
been removed
A well drilled for the purpose of recovering hydrocarbons
Dividend reinvestment plan
Employee equity plan
Earnings per share
A licence to explore for oil or gas in a particular area issued to a 
company by a governing state

Where one company acquires an interest in an exploration permit 
or production licence by paying some of the past or future costs of 
another company which is relinquishing its interest

Front-end engineering and design. Preliminary design and cost and 
schedule confirmation before a final investment decision
Frontier Exploration Licence
Final investment decision
Halves of the calendar year (i.e. 1H is 1 January to 30 June,  
2H is 1 July to 31 December)
Flaring is the term used to describe the controlled burning of gas 
found in oil and gas reservoirs
Floating liquefied natural gas
Floating production storage and offloading vessel

Free cash flow

Cash flow from operating activities less cash flow from investing 
activities

Gas-Up and Cool-Down             An operation to cool a vessel’s LNG tanks prior to loading
Gearing
GWF

Net debt divided by (net debt + equity)
Greater Western Flank

Infill well
IOGP
ISO

JCC

JV
KGP
LIBOR
LNG
LPG
LTIF
Net debt
NPAT
NWS
PEP
PRRT 
PSC
PSE

Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

RAP

ROE

ROACE

SPA

Tier 1 PSE

Tier 2 PSE

TRIR

TSR

Drilled for the purpose of increasing production
International Association of Oil & Gas Producers
International Organisation for Standardisation

The Japan Customs-cleared Crude is the average price of 
customs-cleared crude oil imports into Japan as reported in 
customs statistics (also known as 'Japanese Crude Cocktail') and is 
used as the reference price for long-term supply LNG contracts.

Joint venture
Karratha Gas Plant
London Inter-Bank Offer Rate
Liquefied natural gas
Liquefied petroleum gas
Lost time injury frequency
Total debt less cash and cash equivalents
Net profit after tax
North West Shelf Project
Petroleum exploration permit
Petroleum Resources Rent Tax
Production Sharing Contract
Process safety event
Quarters of the calendar year (i.e. Q1 is 1 January to 31 March, Q2 
is 1 April to 30 June, Q3 is 1 July to 30 September, Q4 is  
1 October to 31 December)
Woodside’s Reconciliation Action Plan
Return on equity is a measure of company performance calculated 
as equity attributable to shareholders (excluding non-controlling 
interests) divided by reported NPAT (excluding non-controlling 
interests) expressed as a percentage  

Return on average capital employed is calculated as net profit after 
tax and net finance costs (after tax) divided by average debt and 
equity
Sales and Purchase Agreement

A typical Tier 1 PSE is loss of containment of hydrocarbons greater 
than 500 kg (in any one-hour period)

A typical Tier 2 PSE is loss of containment of hydrocarbons greater 
than 50 kg but less than 500 kg (in any one-hour period)

Total recordable injury rate. The number of recordable injuries 
(fatalities + lost workday cases + restricted workday cases + 
medical treatment cases) per 1,000,000 hours worked

Total shareholder return

Unit production costs

Production costs ($ million) divided by production  
volume (MMboe)

USA 
USD
WA

United States of America
US dollars
Western Australia

Glossary of key terms used in this report

Units of measure

Term

Committee
EIP

ER

Executive

Executive Director
Executive KMP
KMP 
KPI
LTA 
NED
NEDSP
Performance Year

Restricted Shares

RTSR

Scorecard

STA 

SWEP

VAR

VPR

Meaning
The Human Resources & Compensation Committee 
The Executive Incentive Plan 

Equity Right. ERs are awarded under the WEP and SWEP 
and each one entitles participants to receive a fully paid share 
in Woodside on the vesting date (or a cash equivalent in the 
case of international assignees). No amount is payable by the 
executive on the grant or vesting of an ER 

A senior employee who the Board has determined to be eligible 
to participate in the EIP

Peter Coleman 
The Executive Directors and senior executives listed in Table 1
Key management personnel
Key Performance Indicator
Long-Term Award 
Non-executive director
The Non-executive Director Share Plan
The year to which an EIP award relates 

Woodside ordinary shares that are awarded to executives as 
the deferred component of their STA. No amount is payable by 
the executive on the grant or vesting of a Restricted Share 

Relative Total Shareholder Return

A corporate scorecard of key measures that align with 
Woodside’s overall business performance 

Short-Term Award 

The Supplementary Woodside Equity Plan

Variable Annual Reward 

Variable Pay Right. Each VPR is a right to receive a fully paid 
ordinary share in Woodside (or, at the Board’s discretion, as 
cash equivalent). No amount is payable by the executive on the 
grant or vesting of a VPR 

WEP

The Woodside Equity Plan

110

bbl

Bcf

BCM

boe

kPa

Mcf

MMbbl

MMboe

MMBtu

mtpa

psi

t

Tcf

TJ

barrel

billion cubic feet

billion cubic metres

barrel of oil equivalent 

thousands of Pascals

thousand cubic feet

million barrels

million barrels of oil equivalent

million British thermal units

million tonnes per annum

pounds per square inch 

tonnes

trillion cubic feet

terajoules

Conversion factors

Product

Factor

Conversion 
factors1

Australian Pipeline Natural Gas

1 TJ

163.6 boe

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

1 tonne

8.9055 boe

Condensate

Oil

1 bbl

1 bbl

1.000 boe

1.000 boe

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

1 tonne

8.1876 boe

Gulf of Mexico Pipeline Natural Gas

1 MMBtu

0.1724 boe

1.   Minor changes to some conversion factors can occur over time due to gradual changes in the 

process stream.

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015Index

A
American Depositary Receipts (ADR)
Angel platform
Annual General Meeting, 2015 Notice
Anti-bribery and corruption
Australia Oil
Areas of Activity 
B
Balance sheet
Balnaves Oil 
Board of Directors
Brent oil price
Browse FLNG
C

108
2, 22, 23
108
21
1, 12, 19, 26, 80-81, 86, 88, 96
2, 3

6, 8, 16-18, 83, 99
2, 17-18, 26, 72, 89, 98
7, 48, 50, 78
17
1, 2, 18-19, 28, 41, 46, 80, 109

Canada

Canary Islands
Cameroon
Carbon cost
CEO remuneration
CEO’s report
Chairman’s report
Cimatti
Committees of the Board
Compass (workplace culture)
Compliance
Community engagement 
Conservation Agreement
Contingent resources
Conversion factors
Corporate governance
Credit rating
D
Directors’ declaration
Diversity

Dividend

3, 7, 9, 18, 27, 29, 34, 38-42, 47, 72, 
80, 89, 100, 102, 112
3, 43, 100
3, 16, 28, 42, 100, 102
81, 110
59, 61
8, 9 
6, 7 
45
50, 51
ii, 35, 50
1, 11, 20, 47, 50, 51, 78, 83
34
25
5, 6, 8, 13-14, 38, 42, 45-47, 110
110
21, 31, 50-51, 61, 70
8, 15, 78, 93, 

105
9, 28, 30, 34, 47, 50, 57
4, 6, 14, 17, 19, 51, 54, 76, 82, 90, 99, 
108-109
6, 15, 17, 19, 51, 90, 108, 110
14, 17-19, 23, 25, 36-37, 42-43, 45

16, 113
9, 34, 54, 57
30-35, 50, 59, 60-61, 70, 95, 98-99, 113
34
108
16, 17, 21, 61, 76, 78-79, 88-89
10-11
38-39, 42
50

Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Drilling
E
Effective income tax 
Emissions
Employees
Environmental incidents
Events calendar 2016
Exchange rate
Executives
Exmouth
External auditor relationship
F
Financial position
Financial report
Flared gas and intensity
Floating LNG (FLNG)
Franking credit
Free cash flow
G
Gabon
Gearing
Global exploration
Global LNG
Goodwyn A
Graduates (Program)
Great South Basin
Greater Enfield
Greater Western Flank
Gulf of Mexico 
H
Health and safety
I
Independent audit report
Indigenous
K
Karratha Gas Plant (KGP)
Kitimat LNG
L
Laminaria–Corallina
Laverda
LNG market
LNG Train 
London Benchmarking Group
Long-term award (LTA)
M
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 41, 47
Mission (company)
Morocco 

Myanmar

12, 16-17
71-105
9, 13, 34, 
6, 18, 46
82
16, 110

3, 18-19, 42, 102
9, 12, 15-17, 90, 110
42-43
21, 28-29
2, 18, 22-23, 45, 
9, 13, 30-31
43, 
45
2, 5, 8, 18, 22, 45, 110
110, 113

4, 8-9, 20, 25, 32

106
30-31, 35

2, 5, 8-9, 12, 22, 110
3, 17-18, 27, 41, 47, 72, 89

2, 16, 26-27, 72, 88, 96, 100
45
7, 18, 23, 25, 28-29
23-24
35
55-56, 58, 99, 110

ii, 1, 14, 50
3, 34, 42-43 100, 102
5, 17, 30, 33-35, 36, 39, 42-43, 100, 
102, 109

N
Net profit after tax
New Zealand
Nganhurra FPSO
Ngujima-Yin FPSO
North American 'unconventional oil', 
US LNG
North Rankin Complex
North West Shelf Project
Northern Endeavour FPSO
O
Oil spill response plan
Okha FPSO
Operating and financial review
Outer Canning 
P
Payout ratio
Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT)
Performance summary
Peru
Pluto LNG
Pluto Support Centre 
Production
Production Sharing Contract (PSC)
Proved plus Probable reserves
Proved reserves
R
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)
Remuneration report
Republic of Korea
Reserves replacement ratio
Reserves and Resource statement
Retention lease
Retention (of employees) 
Return on equity
Risk management
S
Sales revenue
Security
Seismic
Sensitivities
Share plans
Share registry: enquiries
Shareholders: twenty largest
Shareholdings: distribution
Short-term award (STA)
Spain (Canary Islands)

Strategy, Woodside

Stybarrow Venture FPSO
Sunrise
T
Tanzania
Taranaki Basin

Technology

Timor-Leste
Total shareholder return (TSR)
Total recordable injury rate (TRIR)
Turnaround
Turnover (employees)
U
United States of America (USA)
Unit production cost
V
Values (company)
Vincent
Vision
Volume weighted average  
realised prices 
Volunteering
W

Wheatstone

X
Xena

5, 15-16, 54, 78, 110
3, 42-43, 100, 102
2, 27
2, 26
7, 29

2, 18, 22-23, 
22-23, 29, 80, 83, 109-110
2, 27, 

20, 33
2, 22
12-47
42, 100

6, 15
16
4, 5
2, 42-43
1, 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 18, 24-25, 32, 90, 92, 
24-25
4-9, 12, 14-18, 20, 22-29, 54, 80, 85
42, 109-110
38-39, 87, 110
38, 87, 110

30, 35, 110
52-69
3, 16, 42-43, 
4, 38
38
46
31, 59
16, 110
20, 32, 34, 50, 78-79, 90

4, 16, 22-24
13, 20, 32-33
5, 14, 18-19, 22-23, 25, 36, 42-43
17, 47, 
62, 77, 92, 98-99
108
107
107
57, 99
43, 
6, 8-9, 14-15, 18, 28-29, 31, 33, 35-36, 
42, 53, 58, 
27
3, 7, 47

42, 102
43
1, 8-9, 15, 18, 20-21, 25, 33, 36-37, 
42, 46
7, 19, 47
5
4, 8-9, 18, 32-33, 57, 110
4-5, 9, 12, 18, 22-25, 32-33
31

18, 91, 108
12, 17,  23, 25, 110

ii, 1, 9, 14, 30-31, 35-36, 50
9, 13, 16, 26, 38, 
ii, 1, 9, 14, 18, 30, 50, 

16

36

2, 5-9, 13, 17-19, 29, 38-39, 44, 72, 80, 
85, 88-89, 96, 100

5, 8, 24-25, 

111

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION2015 SUMMARY CHARTS

PRODUCT VIEW

Investment

Gas and condensate*
Oil*
Exploration and other
* Indicative only as some assets produce oil and gas

2014
2015
50% 89%
5% 4%
45% 7%

6,003
Million

REGIONAL VIEW

Investment

Australia
Canada
Rest of World

2014
2015
88% 80%
0% 18%
12% 2%

6,003
Million

The majority of our investment expenditure was directed 
towards the Wheatstone, Kitimat and Balnaves asset purchases 
and investment on Wheatstone in 2015. 

Capital investment in 2015 was predominantly in the  
north-west of Australia, with the remainder in Canada.

Production

Natural gas*
Oil
Condensate
* Includes LNG, LPG and pipeline gas

2014
2015
79% 78%
12% 13%
9% 9%

92.2
MMboe

Production

Australia
Canada
Rest of World

2014
2015
99% 99%
0% <1%
<1% 0%

92.2
MMboe

The majority of our production is from natural gas at the  
NWS and Pluto projects. The proportion of oil increased 
slightly in 2015 due to the addition of the Balnaves oil asset to 
our portfolio.

Australian projects continue to provide the majority of 
Woodside’s production volumes.

 Refer to our areas of activity map on page 2, which shows the 
locations of our producing assets.

Sales revenue

Sales revenue

Natural gas*
Oil
Condensate
* Includes LNG, LPG and pipeline gas

2014
2015
71% 76%
16% 15%
13% 9%

4,496
Million

Australia
Canada
Rest of World

2014
2015
99% 99%
0% <1%
<1% 0%

4,496
Million

Gas continues to provide the majority of our sales revenue.  
The contribution of natural gas to revenue increased in 2015 due to 
continued strong production at the NWS and Pluto projects. 

The majority of our revenue is currently derived from Australia. 
In 2015, revenue was also attributable to the sale of Canadian 
pipeline gas.

 Refer to the CEO report page 8 and the Operating and Financial 
Review page 16, for further information on our strategy.

Reserves (Proved plus Probable)

Reserves (Proved plus Probable)

Natural gas*
Oil
Condensate
* Includes LNG, LPG and pipeline gas

2015
2014
87% 88%
4% 3%
9% 9%

1,508.0
MMboe

Australia
Canada
Rest of World

2014

2015
100% 99%
0% 1%
0% 0%

1,508.0
MMboe

Gas represents the largest portion of Woodside’s Proved plus 
Probable reserves, increasing in 2015 with the purchase of our 
interests in the Julimar Project.

The majority of Woodside’s Proved plus Probable reserves 
are located in Australia; however, we anticipate a greater 
diversity will result from our global exploration and business 
development activities.

112

OVERVIEWOPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEWGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL  REPORTSHAREHOLDER  INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD ANNUAL REPORT 2015TEN-YEAR COMPARATIVE DATA SUMMARY 

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Profit and 
Loss (USDm)1

Balance Sheet 
(USDm)1

Cash Flow 
(USDm) 
and Capital 
Expenditure 
(USDm)1

Volumes

Other ASX 
Data

227 
619 
92 
577 
1,521 
 -   
 -   
325
3,361 
 2,598 
 2,241 
 1,560 
 357 
 541 
83
57
 8 
 687 
 -   
 864 
 128 
 91 
8,515 
903 
782 
4,458 
 2,082 
 (1,700)
 (522)

447
1,965
24.3
19.4
14.9

 16.4 
 17.0 
 1.2 
 7.8 
 20.4 
6.9
 69.7 

182 
614 
75 
512 
1,062 
 -   
 -   
427
2,872 
 2,346 
 2,093 
 1,684 
 253 
 337 
65
7
 20 
 590 
 -   
 1,075 
 163 
 98 
7,072 
1,435 
1,188 
3,313 
 1,457 
 (1,432)
 41 

376
1,091
32.4
32.5
26.4

 15.5 
 17.3 
 1.2 
 8.0 
 16.5 
9.2
 67.7 

Operating Revenues
Australia Pipeline Gas
Australia LNG
Australia LPG
Australia Condensate
Australia Oil
Australia LNG Processing Revenue
Australia Trading Revenue
Other International
Total
EBITDAX
EBITDA2 
EBIT3 
Exploration and Evaluation
Depreciation and Amortisation
Amortisation of Licence Acquisition Costs
Impairment/(Impairment Reversal)
Net Finance Costs
Tax Expense
Non-controlling Interest
Reported NPAT
Reported EPS (cents)4
DPS (cents)
Total Assets
Debt
Net Debt
Shareholder Equity

Cash Flow from Operations
Cash Flow from Investing
Cash Flow from Financing

Capital Expenditure

 295
3,095
34
421
650
180
354 
1
5,030 
3,443
3,063
441
 380
1,517
22
1,083
85
243
87
26 
3
109

367 
2,834 
125 
903 
1,918 
125 
-  
76
6,348 
 5,528 
 5,162 
 3,795 
 366 
 1,184 
26
157
 137 
 614 
 61 
 2,983 
 366 
130

 376 
 4,563 
 80 
 901 
 1,133 
 198 
 161
23
 7,435
 5,853 
 5,568 
3,672 
 285 
1,441
 21 
 434 
 163 
 993 
 102 
 2,414 
 293 
255

375 
366 
1,509 
3,347 
127 
88 
860 
1,000 
1,795 
896 
 -   
150 
 -   
-  
136
79
4,802 
5,926 
 3,423 
 4,460 
2,864
 4,188 
 2,212 
2,538 
 559 
 272 
 627 
1,218 
28
45
(3)
387
 26 
179 
 677 
545 
 2 
65 
 1,507 
1,749 
 190 
213 
 110 
249
 24,810   23,231 
 23,839  24,082  23,770 
 5,102 
 4,340 
3,764 
 2,586 
 5,061 
 1,918 
1,541 
 (682)
14,226  15,824  15,225  15,148   12,658 
3,330 
 2,376
 2,242 
 161   (3,533)
(1,059)
 (5,456)
 362 
(2,470)
 (58)

 4,785 
 (617)
 (3,119)

4,441
4,319

 (1,252)

 3,475 

309 
1,310 
115 
708 
1,579 
 -   
 -   
172
4,193 
 3,431 
 3,126 
 2,256 
 305 
 749 
24
97
 (18)
 697 
 2 
 1,575 
 204 
 105 

378 
769 
94 
571 
1,496 
 -   
 -   
179
3,487 
 3,427 
 3,209 
 2,303 
 218 
 752 
35
119
 12 
 823 
 (6)
 1,474 
 210 
 95 

320 
1,007 
112 
669 
2,685 
 -   
 -   
252
 5,045 
 4,017 
 3,765 
 2,852 
 252 
 732 
49
132
 19 
 1,287 
 -   
 1,546 
 225 
 100 
 20,196  17,753  10,317 
2,044 
4,939 
1,946 
3,732 
4,633 
8,812 
 3,224 
 1,483 
 (3,892)
 (4,708)
 684 
 4,207 

 4,915 
 3,952 
 11,091 
 2,104 
 (2,941)
 608 

Exploration and Evaluation
Oil and Gas Properties and Property, Plant & Equipment
(%)
(%)

ROACE5 
Reported Return on Shareholders Funds 
Gearing
Sales (million boe)
Australia Pipeline Gas
Australia LNG
Australia LPG
Australia Condensate
Australia Oil
Other International
Total (million boe)
Production (million boe)
Australia Pipeline Gas
Australia LNG
Australia LPG 
Australia Condensate
Australia Oil
Other International
Total (million boe)
Reserves (Proved plus Probable) Gas (Tcf)
Reserves (Proved plus Probable) Condensate (MMbbl)
Reserves (Proved plus Probable) Oil (MMbbl)
Other
Employees
Shares

1,305
4,309
2.0
0.2
23.3

13.2
57.6
0.7
8.5
12.5
0.2
92.7

13.1
57.5
0.7
8.4
12.3
0.2
92.2
7.59
133.50
42.60

261
425
17.5
15.3
(4.5)

 13.3 
 58.3 
 0.8 
 9.4 
 11.2 
0.2
93.2

166
420
12.0
11.5
9.2

14.0
52.4 
0.9 
9.5 
8.0 
0.9
85.7 

383
1,145
18.3
19.7
11.2

 13.9 
 42.6 
 1.1 
 8.6 
 16.8 
0.8
 83.8 

778
2,651
11.8
11.9
28.6

 14.0 
 22.4 
 1.1 
 7.8 
 15.7 
2.9
 63.9 

703
2,933
13.5
14.2
26.3

 14.8 
 22.7 
 1.3 
 9.1 
 19.8 
4.5
 72.2 

273
3,992
19.0
16.7
29.8

 18.4 
 21.3 
 1.5 
 9.7 
 24.3 
5.5
 80.7 

418
4,031
37.1
33.4
29.6

 18.9 
 17.0 
 1.2 
 7.9 
 29.8 
5.4
 80.2 

13.9 
53.6 
0.9 
9.5 
8.2 
0.9
87.0 
7.09    

 13.3 
 60.3 
 0.8 
 9.1 
 11.4 
0.2
 95.1
 6.65    

 13.8 
 43.9 
 1.1 
 9.3 
 16.0 
0.8
 84.9 
 7.51    
 117.11     125.20      130.90    
67.00    
 54.06    

 14.0 
 22.6 
 1.2 
 7.9 
 16.0 
2.9
 64.6 
 7.80    
 138.70    
 95.90      108.50    

 14.8 
 23.2 
 1.4 
 9.1 
 19.7 
4.5
 72.7 
 8.02    
 154.74    
 117.50    

 18.9 
 18.4 
 17.4 
 21.5 
 1.2 
 1.5 
 7.9 
 9.5 
 30.5 
 24.5 
5.4
5.5
 81.3 
 80.9 
 7.90    
 7.79    
 151.40    
 147.80    
 136.10      168.80    

 16.4 
 17.4 
 1.2 
 8.0 
 20.5 
7.1
 70.6 
 7.80    

 15.6 
 17.4 
 1.2 
 8.0 
 16.4 
9.3
 67.9 
 6.90    
 152.10      144.60    
 221.10    
 170.20    

3,456
38.33
26.20
28.72

3,896 
39.54 
33.29 
38.90 

 3,856 
 50.85 
 29.76 
 30.62 

 3,803 
44.23 
33.71 
38.01 

 3,997 
 38.16 
 30.09 
 33.88 

High (A$)
Low (A$)
Close (A$)

 2,888    
 49.80    
 34.81    
 38.11    
Number (000’s) 823,911 823,911  823,911  823,911  805,672  783,402  748,599     698,553     688,331     666,667    
225,138 227,798 217,383 208,277  205,868   201,134  175,257  141,035  131,460  119,003 
 17,717   30,353   20,033 
 33,745 
31,317  32,050  27,914   24,670   33,342   35,334      25,637      34,685      25,407    
 2.47    
 6.12 
44.09
35.4
25.2
30.1
5.9
11.6
(2.7)

17,250 25,664  28,579  28,983   25,287 
23,663
107.45
49.78
25.0

 2,981    
 56.66    
 34.81    
 50.39    

 3,219    
 53.87    
 31.19    
 47.20    

 3,650 
 49.28 
 40.56 
 42.56 

 3,124    
 70.51    
 26.81    
 36.70    

 14.09 
27.2
6.6

 12.67 
30.5
20.0

30.43
29.8
5.4

 3.35    
32.6
11.0

 3.60    
35.8
2.6

 5.71    
33.7
11.8

(%) 
(%)

 31,567 

Number of shareholders
Market Capitalisation (USD equivalent at reporting date)
Market Capitalisation (AUD equivalent at reporting date)
Finding Costs ($/boe) (3 year average)6
Reported Effective Income Tax Rate  
Net Debt/Total Market Capitalisation 

1.  Comparative financial information prior to 2010 has 
been converted on a consistent basis in accordance 
with Note 1(o) to the 2010 Financial Report. Cash flow 
and capital expenditure have been converted using 
a consistent approach adopted on a conversion of 
expenses.

2.  The calculation for EBITDA has been updated to 
exclude impairment and amortisation of license 
acquisition costs. 2006 to 2013 EBITDA numbers have 
been re stated to reflect this change in calculation.

3.  EBIT is calculated as a profit before income tax, PRRT 

and net finance costs.

4.  Earnings per share has been calculated using the 
following weighted average number of shares: 
2015: 822,943,960;  2014: 822,771,118
2013: 822,983,715;  2012: 814,751,356
2011: 791,668,973;  2010: 773,388,154
2009: 703,310,697;  2008: 685,179,496
2007: 671,447,950;  2006: 657,178,947

5.  The calculation for ROACE has been revised in 2014 to 
use EBIT as the numerator, in addition to a change in 
the composition of capital employed. ROACE for  
2006-2013 has been restated to include this change.

6.  Finding cost methodology is in accordance with the 

FAS69/SEC industry standard. 

113

SHAREHOLDER INFORMATIONWOODSIDE PETROLEUM LTD SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT 2015

Head Office:
Woodside Petroleum Ltd 
240 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000 Australia

Postal Address:
GPO Box D188
Perth WA 6840 Australia

t: +61 8 9348 4000
f: +61 8 9214 2777
e: companyinfo@woodside.com.au

Visit us at
www.woodside.com.au

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