Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill discusses journey to becoming one of Australia’s top chief executives

From little things big things grow. So it was with Woodside Energy boss Meg O’Neill, who grew up in Boulder, Colorado, as the daughter of an engineer to become one of Australia’s top chief executives. Ms O’Neill recently returned from Houston after closing the deal on a $27 billion buyout of BHP’s oil and gas assets. About 1000 BHP staff are transferring to Woodside as part of the merger, including 100 in Perth who are relocating into Woodside’s high-rise headquarters on Mount Street. The deal doubles the size of the company — previously Woodside Petroleum — by adding oil and gas production in the US, Bass Strait and the Caribbean. “It’s fantastic to get to the point where we can start acting as one company and delivering the results that we expect we can achieve,” Ms O’Neill told Insider magazine, published today. “The merger . . . really does give us a chance to reset who we are as a company.” The task ahead is no small feat for the American and first-time chief executive, who only took over the reins from Peter Coleman in August last year. Since then, Woodside has faced controversy over its $US12b ($16b) Scarborough gas project off WA’s North West, a global energy price crisis in the wake of the war in Ukraine and fierce criticism over its emission reduction plan. But Ms O’Neill — who has almost three decades of experience in oil and gas and has weathered her fair share of market shocks — is not easily rattled. Ms O’Neill grew up as the “bossy big sister” to two brothers in a studious family. While she found her passion for maths and science at school, her love of creating was inspired by her father, who worked as an electrical engineer and entrepreneur. “My dad was an engineer. I thought, that seems like a way to build on my passion . . . and do something that would be a job where I could create things and add value, and use my skills to drive progress,” she said. “Technical creativity and the ability to see the world and make an impact was something that he valued that inspired me.” Her career has not always been smooth-sailing, however. Ms O’Neill told Insider her journey coming out as a gay woman in the industry — in the highly conservative state of Texas, no less — had its “ups and downs”. “But one of the things that has been important to me since I joined Woodside is to be out and visible because I do recognise the importance of those visible role models,” said Ms O’Neill, who has a daughter with her wife Vicky Hayes. “I think it is important for me as a senior gay woman in the industry to be visible so young, queer people can look up and say, ‘Look, there’s somebody like me. I should be comfortable bringing myself to work’.” Ms O’Neill said Woodside was working towards reducing its emissions over time and offering oil and gas customers products that will allow them to decarbonise their own businesses. The company is targeting net zero by 2050 or sooner.