Shareholders of Woodside approve merger with BHP petroleum

Shareholders of Woodside Petroleum approved a merger with Anglo-Australian BHP Group’s petroleum arm to create a top 10 global independent petroleum producer worth nearly $40 billion.

Over 97% of the proxy and direct votes received at the firm’s annual meeting favored the deal.

Agreed upon last August, the merger advances top global mining firm BHP’s effort to move away from fossil fuels as it seeks to decarbonize while doubling Woodside’s oil and gas production and beefing up its funding for growth.

Meg O’Neill, Woodside’s chief executive, told shareholders that the merger was an opportunity for Woodside to escalate its contribution to the world’s growing energy needs and build the resilience, scale, and diversity to thrive through the energy transition.

Woodside will pay BHP in its shares for the merger, giving BHP shareholders a 48% stake in the merged firm, which will have assets in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Trinidad, and Senegal.

Shareholders were disappointed with Woodside’s climate plan while backing the merger. The firm’s climate action plan does not set targets for reducing its customers’ emissions, called Scope 3 emissions.

Nearly 45% of direct and proxy votes shown at the shareholders’ meeting were against the climate action plan, which Woodside put to an advisory vote for the first time.