When Geraldine Slattery rose to the top job at BHP's petroleum business eight months ago, it was to head a division at the mining major that had halved in size from a few years earlier.
The miner's reversal of its costly and ill-timed foray into onshore shale in the US had shrunk the division and left investors questioning whether it lived up to BHP's "tier one" criteria. Similar questions were being asked within the business.
