Woodside Petroleum’s $16bn Scarborough gas project off Western Australia might still be awaiting the official green light, but momentum suggests it is close to a done deal as interim boss Meg O’Neill firms as the most likely bet to lead the company long-term.
Gas from the remote Scarborough field will be processed at an expanded Pluto LNG plant near Karratha, with a final investment decision by Woodside and its minority partner BHP due by year-end.
US contracting giant Bechtel – given the job of building what’s known as Pluto 2 – has revalidated its bid price for the facility and is now waiting for formal approval to start construction. New pricing from equipment suppliers and fabricators is still pending.
Much of the intrigue around the Scarborough to Pluto development has been intertwined with Woodside dragging its heels on appointing a CEO successor to Peter Coleman.
As the clock continues to tick on naming Coleman’s replacement, some speculate the odds are shortening on Ms O’Neill winning the job on a permanent basis.
O’Neill met investors in Sydney last week and the oil and gas producer’s boss is seen as having the backing of the board for the position.
Woodside chairman Richard Goyder expects a new CEO will probably be in charge by the time the producer makes a decision on Scarborough. He’s previously said while the incoming boss would review Scarborough plans, the board had no intention of letting the CEO search slow down the Scarborough process.
O’Neill fanned the flames this week at the APPEA conference, saying the Scarborough decision already has the full support of the board and whoever happens to fill the CEO role will not change matters.
The timeline appears tough for an outsider to join the company and undertake a full review of Scarborough as the company’s most important growth project. Shell’s Zoe Yujnovich and BHP’s Geraldine Slattery have both been mooted.
That could mean that Scarborough gets pushed into the early stages of 2022. But sources close to the project believe that with O’Neill already publicly committed, Goyder and the board may be leaning towards her as the best option.
It’s been over six months since Coleman announced his exit after a decade in the role. Coleman has officially departed Woodside’s Perth headquarters but is still courted by some in the industry. He attended a Macquarie function in Perth earlier this week packed with oil and gas industry executives.
Woodside’s board ended up calling early time on Coleman. The official explanation was the long lead he had given for his departure had begun to weigh on the veteran oil and gas executive, potentially leading to friction.
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