Newly appointed Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill will hit the ground running with a transformative merger with BHP’s petroleum business, creating a top 10 oil and gas producer with the financial clout to withstand the tough market involved with the transition to clean energy.

“We see this as a company-changing transaction,” Ms O’Neill told The Australian Financial Review, minutes after the announcement of the scrip-based merger, which values BHP Petroleum at $US13.9 billion ($19.1 billion) and will propel Woodside into an international player with a significant presence in the Gulf of Mexico.