July 17 (LTIT) –BHP's crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids production fell in fiscal 2018-2019 (July-June) on the back of natural field decline and planned maintenance work which came amidst weaker prices, the company said in its operational review Wednesday.

The production of the fuels stood at 55 million barrels of oil equivalent, down 4% year on year. The April-June quarter result came in at 13 mmboe, showing a 1% dip year on year and 1% rise from the January-March period.

BHP said the natural field decline was across the portfolio while the maintenance work was a 70-day dry dock program at Australia's Pyrenees completed during the July-September quarter of 2018.

"This decline was partly offset by higher uptime and stronger field performance at [the Gulf of Mexico] Atlantis and Mad Dog," it said.

The company's achieved average crude and condensate price for the January-June period was $63.29/bbl, which is down 7% year on year and 9% from the July-December period, it said.

The 2018-2019 production result took BHP's total petroleum production to 121 mmboe, up 1% year on year. However, the company is expecting a fall to 110 mmboe-116 mmboe in the current fiscal, it said.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Paul Hissey said the investment bank expects the production to be at the upper end of guidance at 115 mmboe.