Investors have applauded Woodside Petroleum for taking what they see as the only feasible path with a brutal decision to put $53 billion of LNG growth projects in Western Australia on ice in response to the oil price crash.

The deferral of the Scarborough, Pluto-2 and Browse projects represents a turnaround from Woodside's previous determination to press ahead. But it comes after an unprecedented drop in oil prices which has combined with the demand shock from COVID-19 to wreck investment plans across the global industry.