Woodside Petroleum has named BHP’s former group financial controller, Graham Tiver, as its new chief financial officer in what analysts say may be the first of several new hires for the oil and gas producer as it looks to swallow up the miner’s petroleum business.
Mr Tiver will replace Sherry Duhe, who announced her surprise resignation from Woodside last month to take up the same role at Newcrest Mining early next year.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill is expected to make several new hires for her senior management team. Trevor Collens
The switch in CFOs comes with Woodside in the middle of its biggest corporate deal, the $41 billion scrip-based merger with BHP Petroleum due to go before a shareholder vote in the June quarter next year.
The Perth-based company is also in the middle of asset sell-down processes, including at its $US4.6 billion ($6.25 billion) Senegal oil project and at the upstream Scarborough gas field in Western Australia, part of a $16.5 billion LNG project that received board approval for construction last month.
At BHP, Mr Tiver was responsible for the miner’s global accounting and reporting function and for financial improvement. Between BHP and WMC Resources, he has had a 28-year career in financial and commercial roles, across minerals, oil and gas and in overseas markets including North and South America as well as in Australia.
Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill highlighted Mr Tiver’s “close understanding of the value drivers for the energy sector”.
“Graham’s demonstrated technical and financial capability, strong operational background and leadership skills will make an important contribution to Woodside and delivering ongoing value to shareholders,” Ms O’Neill said.
Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said he expected a few BHP executives to join Ms O’Neill’s new executive team, with new external hires also likely.
The BHP Petroleum merger will roughly double Woodside’s production and take it into major new markets such as the US Gulf of Mexico.
Woodside is also preparing to enter the east coast gas market not only as ExxonMobil’s non-operating partner in the large Gippsland Basin joint venture, by taking over BHP’s stake, but also independently through a potential deal to import LNG through Viva Energy’s proposed Geelong terminal.
Woodside’s increasing forays into new energy areas, including carbon farming, hydrogen and solar thermal power generation, are also expected to require a deepening of skills and expertise among top management in those areas.
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