The company said the lower oil output reflected lost production from the Typhoon/Boris facility in the Gulf of Mexico due to hurricane damage; well and weather-related downtime at the North West Shelf; natural liquids decline at Bass Strait; natural field decline at Liverpool Bay in the UK, and the January 2005 sale of its interest in Laminaria.

Fourth quarter crude oil and condensate production was down 17% on the previous corresponding period, at 11.55MMbbl.

Total petroleum production for the year dropped 3% to 115.95MMbbl of oil equivalent.

Meanwhile, natural gas production for the 2005-06 financial year reached 360.44 billion cubic feet – a 4% jump on the previous year’s results. But the 98.59Bcf of gas produced in the fourth quarter was on par with the previous corresponding period.

BHPB said its record annual natural gas production primarily reflected the commissioning of Minerva in Australia and the fourth liquefied natural gas train at the North West Shelf, partly offset by lost production from the Typhoon/Boris facility and lower demand for Bass Strait gas.

During the year, BHPB spent $US447 million ($A594 million) on petroleum exploration.