Australian Worldwide Quarterly Sales Jump on Tui Oil Output

By Angela Macdonald-Smith

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd., which in April agreed to buy rival oil and gas producer Arc Energy Ltd., said fourth-quarter sales jumped more than six- fold, buoyed by production from the Tui oil field in New Zealand.

Sales rose to A$254.5 million ($240 million) in the three months ended June 30, from A$41.2 million a year earlier, the Sydney-based company said today in a statement to the Australian stock exchange. Production more than doubled to 2.48 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Australian Worldwide owns 42.5 percent of Tui, New Zealand's first offshore oil project in 11 years, which produced a higher-than-expected 14.2 million barrels in the year ended June 30. Last month it raised estimated reserves at the field to 50.1 million barrels, almost double initial projections.

``The combination of very strong oil and gas production, particularly from the Tui fields in New Zealand, and very high oil prices, have put AWE in a powerful position to grow the company into the future,'' Managing Director Bruce Wood said in the statement. ``We will continue to look closely at all opportunities for corporate growth.''

Australian Worldwide gained as much as 10 cents, or 2.8 percent, to A$3.64 in Sydney trading. The shares were at A$3.59 at 11:59 a.m. local time.

Full-year sales rose more than five-fold to A$821 million on record production of 9.9 million barrels of oil equivalent, more than double the previous year.

Separately, smaller rival Beach Petroleum Ltd. said second- quarter oil and gas sales gained 34 percent on higher prices. Sales rose to A$167.4 million in the three months ended June 30, from A$125.3 million a year earlier, the Adelaide-based company said in a statement to the exchange. Output fell 1 percent to 2.42 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Full-year sales rose 20 percent to a record A$564.4 million on output that slipped 1 percent to 9.3 million barrels. Beach got an average price for its crude oil of A$111 a barrel in the year, 30 percent higher than the previous year it said.

Beach rose as much as 4.5 cents, or 4 percent, to A$1.18 in Sydney trading and was at A$1.175 at 12:14 p.m. local time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net