Under terms of the contract, the NWS partners will supply the Koreans with 500,000 tonnes of LNG per year for seven years, with initial shipments to start later this year.

Despite the success in securing the NWS's first contract agreement with the Koreans, pressure is mounting on Woodside chief John Akehurst after the release last week of the company's fourth-quarter production report.

The production reported showed a 7.2% decline in quarter-on-quarter production, leading to 17.9% drop in sales volume and a 5.5% fall in revenue. Much of it coming from the sharper than expected decline in production from the Laminaria oil field.

The slide in production challenges managing director John Akehurst to successfully execute the "Shaping up for Growth" strategy outlined to the market in December.

The first phase would focus on optimising production and profitability - between 2003 and 2005 - followed by the creation of new production in the second stage between 2005 and 2008. The third stage would focus on the replacement and growing of reserves.

The US has been identified as a destination for significant additional investment because of its sizeable, undiscovered resources base, more rapid life-cycle from discovery to production and a strong deal flow of new opportunities.