Oz Woodside Starts Search for New CEO

Australian oil and gas explorer Woodside on December 8 said it had started an internal and external search for the company’s next CEO.

Current company boss Peter Coleman has said he will retire in the second half of 2021 after ten years in the role. The time is right for a transition in leadership and the company is well-positioned for the future, he said.

“Retiring in 2021 ensures continuity to support the Scarborough investment decision, which will transform Woodside, while ensuring our international projects in Senegal and Myanmar maintain their positive momentum,” Coleman said. “We value our LNG buyers, joint venture partners and contractors who will continue to be critical to Woodside’s ongoing success.”

Woodside last month said the Scarborough joint venture would accept production licences for WA-1-R (Scarborough) and WA-62-R (North Scarborough) from the Commonwealth and Western Australian joint authority. This follows an agreement reached between Woodside and BHP in February to align their participating interests at WA-1-R and WA-62-R, giving Woodside a 73.5% position and BHP a 26.5% stake in each.

After accepting the licences, the Scarborough joint venture's next move will be applying for a pipeline licence and submitting a field development plan to the joint authority. It is targeting a final investment decision in the second half of 2021.