Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill says the death of a contractor at one of its offshore oil platforms has overshadowed a strong financial year for the petroleum giant.

Michael Jurman died at Woodside’s North Rankin Complex about 135km northwest of Karratha, WA, in June.

“The loss of our colleague was a tragedy for his family and friends and has had an emotional impact on everyone at Woodside,” Ms O’Neill said in a statement on Tuesday.

Investigations by WA Police, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and Woodside itself are ongoing, and Woodside has implemented changes to its operational procedures, she said.

There was also a serious incident at Woodside’s Pluto LNG plant in WA in May that workers have described as an explosion that could have seriously injured personnel.

Woodside called the incident an “audible release” of gas from a flare tower and says it understands what happened and that corrective action has been taken.

“Woodside’s safety performance over the past two years has been below the standard we set for ourselves,” Ms O’Neill said.

“We know we must do better and are resolved to strive for a return to leading safety performance.”

Woodside recorded a half-year net profit after tax of $US1.7 billion ($2.7 billion), up six per cent from a year ago.

Operating revenue rose 27 per cent to $US7.4 billion ($11.5 billion) for the six months to June 30.

Ms O’Neill said Woodside made a significant contribution to economic prosperity of the communities in which it operates during the first half, paying $3.65 billion in Australian state and federal taxes and royalties.

Woodside declared an interim dividend of 80 cents per share, fully franked.

– AAP