Revenue during the 2005-06 financial year was up 25.5% to $US39.1 billion, which BHPB credited to higher commodity prices.

The company's petroleum division saw a 1.6% drop in revenue. But this was driven partly by the sale of the Laminaria and Corallina fields, and underlying EBIT for the petroleum division was $US2.97 billion, an increase of $US573 million, or 23.9%, compared to last year.

This was mainly due to higher average realised prices for all petroleum products.

Increased volumes from the first full year of production from ROD (Algeria), Angostura (Trinidad) and Mad Dog (US Gulf of Mexico) also boosted profits.

This was partially offset by lower volumes from existing assets due to natural field decline, and higher downtime for maintenance and weather-related disruptions.

BHPB achieved record natural gas production, but the company said oil sales were lower than the previous year due to natural field decline and increased downtime at existing assets.

Two of the company’s Gulf of Mexico’s fields – Typhoon and Boris – have been offline since last September, due to hurricane damage at its Typhoon Platform. Before production was halted, the facility was processing up to 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

However, BHPB has now announced it is selling both of these assets to US-based Helix Energy for an undisclosed sum.

Despite the sale and loss of production in fiscal 2006, BHPB remained upbeat about its other activities in the region.

“Our petroleum exploration program continues to be successful, in particular in the Gulf of Mexico,” the company said in its annual report.

Looking ahead, the company said it anticipated future earnings growth, thanks to higher commodity prices and increased demand from China.

But it warned that while the outlook for the global economy was promising, risks stem from escalating geopolitical tensions, higher energy prices and supply disruptions.