Woodside cut its forecast to 70 to 71 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) for the 2007 calendar year, down from the 72 to 78MMboe forecast in August.

The company said the sale of its Legendre assets off the coast of Western Australia and of its Chinguetti asset in Mauritania, West Africa, as well as delays at its Otway Gas Project in Victoria, were driving the downgrade.

Production in the three months ended Sept. 30 totaled 17.6 million barrels, down 8% from a year earlier, due largely to the March sale of the company's stake in the Legendre field and natural declines at Chinguetti, Laminaria-Corallina and Mutineer-Exeter, Woodside said.

Sales fell to $A964 million in the period, down from $A1.14 billion a year earlier.

But Woodside does seem to be finding its way out of the woods, with production rising compared to the previous quarter due to stronger performance at the North West Shelf Venture’s onshore gas plant and improved production from the Enfield oil project in the Exmouth Sub-basin.

With higher production and sales volumes in the first nine months of 2007, the company’s revenue increased by 4% compared to the previous corresponding period.

The company said the Otway gas project was still having teething problems but steady-state production is anticipated by January.

In addition, gas production started from the North West Shelf Venture’s Perseus-over-Goodwyn Project on October 1. Drilling activities are continuing with completion of the next two wells expected before the end of the year.

Two BHP Billiton-operated oil projects are also expected to come online soon.

The relatively small Stybarrow heavy oil project in the Exmouth Sub-basin (Woodside 50%) is expected to start up before the end of this year, and the large Neptune development in the Gulf of Mexico (Woodside 20%) is scheduled to begin production early next year.