Liz Westcott becomes new CEO at Woodside

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is commenting on the appointment of Liz Westcott as the CEO of Woodside Energy Group.

Alex Hillman, Lead Analyst at ACCR said:

“Liz Westcott as CEO has an opportunity to stamp her own mark on Woodside and shape a company that adds value to shareholders as opposed to eroding value.

“Our analysis has shown that Woodside’s aggressive growth strategy has not translated into improved shareholder value. Like much of the oil and gas sector, Woodside demonstrates that more barrels do not automatically mean more value.

“Over the past five years, Woodside has doubled down on growth. Since 2020, the company has invested in around five billion barrels of new oil and gas supply, a strategy that is expected to lift production by roughly 370 per cent through the 2030s. Yet despite this, Woodside has consistently underperformed the sector, the Australian market and global equity markets, including over one-, three- and five-year periods.

“This includes during periods of global oil spikes such as with Ukraine.

“The evidence is clear: exploring for and developing conventional upstream projects has eroded shareholder value at Woodside.^[1] Continuing with this strategy is unlikely to deliver the shareholder returns that investors prioritise.

“Investors will be hoping that Westcott can be a circuit breaker on Woodside’s habit of pursuing high-capex, marginal fossil fuel projects. While an internal successor, she has an opportunity to start focusing on better capital returns.

“Woodside has an opportunity to move beyond rhetoric with capital discipline and genuinely prioritise its shareholders. The board and the new CEO can now rethink the value destructive Browse project, which is more expensive than 70% of competing potential new gas supplies around the world, as well as the expansion of Louisiana LNG.”

Total shareholder return of Woodside has consistently underperformed the local market, global market and global sector