Meg O'Neill, BP's new CEO, will be the first woman ever to lead an oil company.
Energy industry veteran Meg O'Neill was tapped by BP as the leader of a shake-up within the London-based 'oil major'. She made an immediate impression when she took over at Australia's Woodside Energy and secured a deal which doubled the company's production portfolio.
Woodside's acquisition of BHP petroleum assets, in a merger of then-$28billions, in '2021' boosted the Perth-based firm with an international presence during a period of industry consolidation. It made it a global top-10 energy independent company and a powerhouse of gas. Despite O’Neill's long history of investments and acquisitions for the company, Woodside shares have not outperformed their larger rivals over the past five years.
O'Neill, a 55 year-old American originally from Boulder in Colorado who is the first openly lesbian woman to lead a FTSE100 company, joined Woodside after 23 years with Exxon. She was the leader of Woodside since its inception in 2021.
BP announced Wednesday that O'Neill would become CEO in April. She will be the first CEO to come from outside of the company, and the first female CEO among the top five oil companies around the world.
Come and see us!
She was first promoted to acting CEO in April 2020, before she was named to the position permanently that August. She brought a more open and transparent approach to?management, making executive floors of its Mia Yallagonga Headquarters building accessible to staff.
Australian media reported at the time on an internal note that stated "come and see us".
A former Woodside co-worker said, "She was very accessible to the staff. She had a low self-esteem."
Another person described a graduate of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as "an engineer's engineer."
O'Neill, a regular speaker at international energy events, built a high profile in the industry along with Woodside's increasing ambitions. This saw the company invest in the $7.2billion Trion oil project offshore Mexico, and take an increased share of the North West Shelf Gas Project, once Australia's biggest.
O'Neill, as part of a portfolio that was heavily geared towards gas, made a 'big bet' on the U.S. export boom by acquiring a 'company' that Woodside will develop into the $17.5 Billion Louisiana LNG project.
Saul Kavonic, analyst at MST Marquee, said that it was only a question of time before Meg was poached. Majors can afford to pay much more.
O'Neill announced in November that Woodside would increase its sales by 50% to 300 million equivalent barrels by 2032. Woodside is also expanding its global trading team and attracting talent in Singapore.
O'Neill is focusing on purchasing barrels, rather than exploring them. He told multiple audiences at investor days that Woodside will focus on brownfield drilling to connect to existing infrastructure as opposed to starting projects from scratch.
Her appointment to BP may signal a major overhaul of the energy company, following three turbulent years for this over 100-year-old firm.
RED TAPE & FRUSTRATION
O'Neill, a straight shooter, has expressed his frustration at the red tape and laws governing environmental protection in Australia. Many projects require approval from both state and federal governments.
She said that the only thing stopping the development of the vast Browse gas fields to backfill the aged North?West Shelf?LNG facility is regulation. She noted that it took seven year for final approvals for the project to be extended by 40 years.
A source in the industry who has attended meetings with O'Neill said, "If you prefer straight talk and clear expectation, she is good to work with." If you like a more softer style that is based on consensus, O'Neill will be tough with you.
O'Neill has pulled back on clean energy investments. Woodside's only major project that is still in place is a Beaumont, Texas clean ammonia production. This approach has been criticized by climate activists.
Woodside's annual May meeting was dominated by videos promoting its projects and its sponsorship of the Fremantle Dockers, an Australian Rules football team.
O'Neill added, "We can still play many more videos."
Investors have criticized Woodside's plans for reducing emissions as insufficient. The Climate Transition Action Plan O'Neill, developed in 2024, was voted down 58% by shareholders.
She said that sentiments were changing last month.
I think that there is a greater awareness that, as the world invests, even in the developed world, in data centres and AI, that this needs to be powered.
(source: Reuters)
