UPDATE 2-Woodside Q1 output falls on cyclones, asset sales

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By Fayen Wong

PERTH, April 17 (Reuters) - Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Australia's second-largest oil and gas producer, reported a 4 percent fall in first-quarter output, citing the impact of cyclones, maintenance of some fields and the sale of assets.

First-quarter output of 17.2 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) was down 4 percent on the previous quarter, and Woodside reaffirmed its 2008 production forecast for 80-86 million boe. "It was quite a disappointing report. A number of oil fields were producing below expectations; Enfield was a major one and Cossack another. Stybarrow also produced below expectations," said Mark Greenwood, oil and gas analyst at JP Morgan in Sydney.

"Overall, revenue was 17 percent below our forecast, while production and sales was about 10 percent below our estimate."

Shares in Woodside were up 1.6 percent at A$59.26 at 0315 GMT, buoyed by record high oil prices. The S&P/ASX 200 energy index was also up 1.6 percent and the benchmark index was up 1.1 percent.

Production from the Enfield oil field off Western Australia fell about 50 percent to 28,730 barrels per day (bpd), due to cyclones as well as the shut-in of a well after it started to produce sand.

Output from Cossack Pioneer oil field, also off Western Australia, dropped about 32 percent to 765,777 bpd due to cyclones, though output from the nearby Stybarrow field, operated by BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), rose to 65,430 bpd from 45,228 bpd in the previous quarter.

Total output was also lowered by the sale of Woodside's Chinguetti oil field in Mauritania and the Legendre field off Western Australia last year.