Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Australia's giant energy firm, has predicted that its oil output would fall in the coming year, after the sale of some its major assets, while asserting that the company is, despite this, on the way to secure funding for the coming year as it aggressively pumps up its push into liquefied natural gas.

As per official figures shared, Woodside's production for 2010 is expected to drop to 70-75 million Barrels of Oil Equivalent, on the back of the sale of its Otway oil fields in Australia's Victoria state. The new prediction is down from the earlier prediction of 81-86 million BOE.

For the coming year, Woodside, which is 34% owned by Royal Dutch Shell, is focusing its resources in Australia, where the company is currently building the Pluto Liquefied Natural Gas project. The whole project will carry an estimated cost of A$13 Billion ($12 Billion), and will be followed by two more major LNG projects in Browse Basin and Timor Sea.

Chief Executive Don Voelte has asserted that the company is "well on track to line up funding for 2010", and there were no chances of the firm facing any "shortage of lenders", as it is "getting strong support from the debt market".