Post by : Badri Ariffin

Australia’s Woodside Energy is betting big on the future of oil and gas. The company expects its annual sales to jump by 50% over the next eight years, reaching 300 million barrels of oil equivalent by 2032, up from 203.5 million in 2024. This growth marks an annual increase of roughly 6%, reflecting rising energy demand, especially across Asia.

The company is eyeing major projects to drive this expansion. Its Louisiana LNG facility is set to add 16.5 million metric tons of export capacity by 2029, with a second phase raising total output to 27.5 million tons. The Scarborough gas field in Australia is scheduled to begin production in 2026, while the Trion oil field in Mexico is another key contributor to Woodside’s ambitious targets.

Despite global LNG overcapacity forecasts for the rest of the decade, Woodside says long-term contracts signed each year until 2030 demonstrate the market’s ability to absorb extra supply. Analysts point to China as a major driver, with natural gas demand projected to surpass 60 billion cubic feet per day by 2040, making the country a significant LNG consumer.

Woodside also expects robust financial returns from its projects, with the Louisiana LNG facility considered its most promising investment. The company projects $9 billion in free cash flow by 2032.

While Woodside has scaled back clean energy initiatives due to economic and regulatory challenges, it continues one ammonia project that remains emissions-intensive initially. The focus clearly remains on fossil fuels, which will account for more than 90% of its production in the 2030s.

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