Total production reached 123 million barrels of oil equivalent, 5.9% above the previous corresponding period, due to higher production of crude oil.

“Australian oil production has turned around, at least for the time being,” EnergyQuest chief executive Graeme Bethune said.

“Production in September was the highest since the 2003 December Quarter. It reached 35.4MMbbl, up from a low of 23.9MMbbl in the March quarter.”

Increased oil production was due to the start of production from the new Enfield oil field and higher production from the existing Cossack field, both offshore Western Australian fields operated by Woodside Petroleum.

Higher oil production brought about a marked improvement in Australia’s petroleum trade deficit, notwithstanding high oil prices during the quarter. The deficit fell from $A3.16 billion in the June quarter to $1.3 billion in September.

“Australia’s trade performance is increasingly sensitive to production from a small number of oil fields offshore Western Australia,” Bethune said.

“While a fall in the deficit is a positive development, the petroleum trade deficit for the 12 months to September was still a substantial $A8.25 billion.”

Australian natural gas production including coal seam methane and liquefied natural gas grew 5.4% during the quarter. CSM, still mainly concentrated in Queensland, continues to be the fastest-growing source of gas in Australia. Production was 22 petajoules for the quarter, up 36% from September 2005, and reached 76PJ for the 12 months to the end of September, up 40% for the year.

LNG also continues to grow strongly. Production reached 11.9 million tonnes for the year to end September, up 3.3%.

EnergyQuest oil and gas production estimates are compiled from a comprehensive database of more than 300 company reports and are published in the company’s EnergyQuarterly.