Woodside Energy appoints acting boss Liz Wescott to permanently take the helm

Woodside Energy has again tapped its own executive ranks for a boss, appointing Liz Westcott as its new chief executive to replace Meg O’Neill.

Ms Westcott was among the lead internal candidates for the role along with commercial chief Mark Abbotsford and international boss Daniel Kalms.

The 56-year-old Australian civil engineer takes the helm of the country’s biggest oil and gas producer amid volatile energy markets triggered by the war in the Middle East and at a time when Woodside is preparing to commission or develop tens of billions of dollars in major new projects.

Woodside said Ms Westcott, who joined the $60 billion company from EnergyAustralia less than three years ago as its head of Australian operations, had “a proven track record of outstanding leadership and achievement across more than 30 years in the global energy industry”.

“Through these roles Ms Westcott has developed deep industry expertise across a range of areas including strategic planning, commercial and business development, operations, project execution, government and regulatory engagement, sustainability and stakeholder relationships,” it said.

Chair Richard Goyder said Ms Westcott’s appointment reflected the depth of executive talent at Woodside but described her as “the outstanding candidate to take over” from Ms O’Neill, who resigned in December to take the helm of BP in London.

“Liz’s proven track record of outstanding strategic leadership and disciplined delivery distinguished her as the board’s top candidate for this role,” Mr Goyder said.

However, MST Financial energy analyst Saul Kavonic criticised the appointment as going against the wishes of shareholders who wanted someone with more commercial and deal-making experience.

“Liz is a very accomplished operator and leader and would have been the perfect choice to lead Woodside at other points in time,” Mr Kavonic said.

“Nevertheless, Woodside’s position has evolved and the board’s decision to focus on technical experience over other aspects at this time is likely to send some concerning messages to increasingly impatient shareholders about how the board will make important decisions in the future,” he said.

“Shareholders have been looking for signals the board recognises Woodside’s capability gaps regarding investor and market engagement that need to be addressed, and how critical the marketing and commercial capabilities are.

“Investors we have spoken too were seeking more experience in the investor engagement, M&A (mergers and acquisitions), the North American market, and the LNG marketing and commercial stakeholder side of things.”

That criticism was rejected by Mr Goyder, who told a media call that he and the board were “well and truly convinced” that Ms Westcott had the required commercial capabilities to head Woodside.

“We’re not limited to the current opportunities we have on the books, there’s a lot going on in the energy sector at the moment.

“And Liz has demonstrated to the board she is across what some of those opportunities could be.”

RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay said Ms Westcott’s appointment reflected the importance her “strong technical background and project execution skills”, particularly in running Woodside’s flagship WA gas operations.

“We consider this to be a low risk appointment that provides leadership skills to ensure Woodside’s suite of major operated development projects get delivered,” Mr Ramsay said.

Mr Kavonic worries that Woodside now risks losing the expertise of Mr Abbotsford and Mr Kalms, as it is not unusual for overlooked internal contenders to chase new jobs.

Woodside has been alert to the risk, recently loading up with the duo, along with chief financial officer Graham Tiver, with $750,000 in share rights each as an incentive to stay on with the company after the CEO appointment.

A Victorian who spent 25 years around the world with ExxonMobil, Ms Westcott will be paid $2.3 million a year at Woodside, in addition to bonuses.

Woodside shares were nearly one per cent better at $31.67 immediately after the ASX opened.

The stock has risen 37 per cent over the past year, driven by strong demand in Asia for the company’s liquified natural gas and, more recently, a surge in gas and oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.

“My focus as CEO is on sustainable value creation for Woodside shareholders, operational excellence and disciplined execution of our growth projects,” Ms Westcott said in the Woodside statement.

Ms O’Neill has been on gardening leave since resigning from Woodside in December after 5½ years leading the Perth-based group.

She is due to start with BP next month on an initial £11.7 million-plus ($22.25m) package that includes cash and share-based awards to replace bonuses and stock rights forfeited on her resignation from Woodside.