Woodside shareholders back merger with BHP

20 May, 2022

Shareholders were less supportive however of the company�s climate plan.

Woodside Petroleum�s shareholders voted 98.66% in favour of a merger with BHP�s petroleum arm at the company�s AGM.

The merger would make the resulting company one of the world�s top ten independent oil and gas producers with a value of $40 billion.

The merger, first announced in August last year, is an attempt for both companies to better navigate the energy transition. It is expected to facilitate BHP�s efforts to advance its move away from fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the merger is set to double Woodside�s oil and gas production and bolster its funding to further expand.

At the AGM Woodside CEO, Meg O�Neill, told shareholders: �The merger is an opportunity for Woodside to increase its contribution to the world�s growing energy needs and build the scale, resilience and diversity to thrive through the energy transition.�

The merger�s completion is scheduled for 1 June 2022.

In her speech, O�Neill also highlighted Woodside�s ESG approach, which primarily focuses on reducing the company�s net equity Scope 1 and 2 gas emissions by 15% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.

However, almost half (49%) of Woodside�s shareholders voted against the company�s climate plan due to disappointment it didn�t set targets to reduce customers� emissions, also known as Scope 3 emissions.

Several institutions had shown concern over Woodside�s climate ambitions, including proxy advisory firm, Glass Lewis, who recommended shareholders vote against the action in a report.

Glass Lewis believed the climate plan lacked substance and lagged behind other companies� efforts in the sector to tackle Scope 3 emissions.

Similarly, the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) recommended shareholders vote against the plan.

The Centre�s director of climate & environment, Dan Gocher, said of the plan: �Woodside�s newly announced Scope 3 emissions plan amounts to little more than window dressing in the hope that investors won�t notice.�

He argued Woodside�s targets were not aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Australian petroleum producer�s over-reliance on carbon offsets for its 2030 target was �nothing short of laughable�.