Woodside Energy names Liz Westcott as permanent CEO
Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest oil and gas producer, has appointed Liz Westcott as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director after her tenure as acting CEO.
She had been acting CEO since the departure of Meg O’Neill to British major bp, where she replaced Murray Auchincloss, who stepped down in December.
Westcott, 56, joined Woodside in 2023, leading the company’s Australian operations, including the Scarborough gas project and Bass Strait operator transition. She takes the helm as the firm navigates a softer production outlook, with guidance for lower 2026 output amid operational challenges and project timing uncertainties.
Westcott — like her two predecessors — is a veteran of ExxonMobil, where she held top roles for 25 years in Australia, the UK, and Italy. She was also Chief Operating Officer at EnergyAustralia.
Woodside Chair Richard Goyder described the new CEO as “someone who understands the industry ... but also understands the need to be very, very strong commercially and to drive growth and opportunity.”
O’Neill spent more than four years in the top job, during which time Woodside merged with BHP Group’s petroleum arm to create a top 10 global oil and gas producer and doubled Woodside’s oil and gas production.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay described Westcott as a “low-risk appointment that provides leadership skills to ensure Woodside’s suite of major operated development projects get delivered.”
During a media briefing, Westcott said her priorities would include ensuring the Scarborough project comes online by Q4 2026, selling a 20% stake in the $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG project purchased under O’Neill, and getting the Gulf of Mexico Trion oil project up and running by 2028.
“We’re comfortable with our gearing,” she said. “We’re comfortable with our hedging position, so our capital allocation is something we reflect on. But we know 2026 is a big year of delivery.”
Westcott’s appointment follows a late February rise in Woodside Energy Group Ltd.’s shares to an 18-month high, when the company raised its dividend despite reporting a 24% drop in annual net income to $2.7 billion.
