Analysts said the results were slightly better than expected, and would prompt a rise in full-year estimates.

Production for the half totalled 29.898 million barrels of oil equivalent, a combination of both oil and gas. That compared with production of 30.87 million in the first half last year.

Woodside's revenue from sales of gas from the North-West Shelf project, both exported as liquefied natural gas and sold domestically, continued to be the company's economic mainstay, despite company claims that production would fall in 2002-04-05 as existing fields matured.

North-West Shelf sales alone totalled $358 million, up from $303.3 million a year earlier, while condensate sales jumped sharply from $166 million to $233 million.

In the second half, oil production from the newly developed Legendre field is expected to compensate for the falling production at some of the company's ageing fields. At June 30, oil production from Legendre had risen to 44,000bopd.

The company spent $242.7 million on exploration in the first half, above the previous first half rate of $134.6 million, while capital expenditure fell in the first half from $222.5 million last year to $200.9 million this year.

Woodside shares rose 21c yesterday to $13.15.