Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum said it was adding more natural gas assets to its domestic portfolio after a deal with BHP Billiton.

In an arrangement with an estimated value of at least $250 million, Woodside said it completed a deal to acquire a greater interest in natural gas fields offshore Western Australia. With at least three fields -- Scarborough, Thebe and Jupiter -- Woodside said it now had access to up to 8.7 trillion cubic feet of gas resources.

"The Woodside contingent resource estimate for the Scarborough area resources has been calculated using deterministic methods and has been based on a potential development scenario involving floating liquefied natural gas offshore technology," the company said in a statement.

The closing of the deal with BHP Billiton follows a report from consultant group EnergyQuest that said higher export volumes and energy market recovery means the LNG sector in Australia is performing well.

The report said that, even from September, the amount of LNG leaving parts of Australia was up almost 10 percent.

Woodside said in releasing its results for the third quarter that deals emerging since the start of a rough year were a net positive. Total sales revenue of $988 million was up 19.8 percent from the previous quarter, but lower year-on-year by 9 percent. Third quarter production, meanwhile, was up 13 percent from the previous quarter and relatively flat when compared with the same period last year.

The higher market prices for energy this year, which for oil is up more than $15 per barrel from the 2016 bottom, pushed the value of LNG exports for Australia in October to almost $1.3 billion, a record. For exports, EnergyQuest said many projects already in service are producing more than anticipated and export volumes are close to two-year highs.