Woodside loses key executive overseeing $24b LNG bet in the US

Daniel Kalms, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer International at Woodside Energy, will leave the company. Kalms played key roles in projects like Pluto, Scarborough, and the BHP merger. Woodside CEO Liz Westcott praised his contributions. Paa-Joe Akoto-Ampaw will serve as acting EVP and COO International during the recruitment process.

Woodside Energy and PEMEX signed an MoU to explore oil opportunities in Mexico's deep waters, expanding their partnership beyond the $7.2B Trion project, which is 64% complete and expected to produce 100,000 barrels/day by 2028. Woodside also increased production capacity in the U.S. Gulf with BP and made a discovery with Occidental and Chevron.

Woodside Energy reported a $1.7B net profit, up 27% YoY, but dropped key climate targets. CEO Liz Westcott cited global energy transition pace. Conservation groups accused the company of negligence, citing climate impacts and rising energy prices. Farmers for Climate Action expressed disappointment, highlighting costs to agriculture.

Woodside Energy reported Q2 earnings with $3.0B operating cash flow, $1.3B net profit, and $352M free cash flow. Key projects like Scarborough and Trion are on track. The company declared a $0.57 dividend, highlighted cost discipline, and noted safety and ESG challenges. Management expects strong long-term growth and cash flow.

Woodside Energy abandoned its long-term Scope 3 climate targets, including a US$5 billion clean-energy investment plan. The company reported a 7% rise in underlying net profit to US$1.33 billion and a 27% increase in statutory net profit to US$1.67 billion. Woodside's Senegalese field, Sangomar, is central to its strategy, with production averaging 99,000 barrels per day. The company is also in a tax arbitration with Senegal's government over a US$68 million reassessment.

Woodside Energy is reviewing options, including a sale, for its $2.35B blue ammonia plant in Texas, which is operating below capacity without carbon capture. CF Industries is advancing a $3.7B blue ammonia project in Louisiana. Woodside's CEO cited changing market conditions for the review, while industry-wide uncertainty has led to cancellations of other projects.