STRONG petroleum prices and a depreciating Australian dollar brought about a 40 per cent increase in sales revenue despite a modest fall in the quantity sold last year.
Petroleum sales increased $2.9 billion for the year to $10.6 billion (see table right), with the largest contribution coming from crude oil sales, the value of which increased more than 50 per cent, according to the Department of Minerals and Energy 2000-01 Statistics Digest released this week.
Liquefied Natural Gas revenue jumped 39 per cent despite a 5 per cent fall in volumes sold.
The quantity of condensate sales also fell by 8 per cent, while achieving a 25 per cent increase in the value of sales to almost $2 billion
Woodside Petroleum’s capture of a large LNG contract with China as it continued to look for more trading opportunities in Asia was a notable highlight in the sector during the year.
The company also expand-ed its North West Shelf drilling projects, while Apache
had exploration success at its Harriet field.
During 2000-01, crude oil prices fluctuated signifi-cantly averaging prices of just under $US31 per barrel at the beginning of the financial year.
The price then surged to a 10-year high of $US34 in September 2000 before falling back to $US28 a barrel in June 2001.