Big field expected for Woodside throne

Woodside chairman Michael Chaney expects a "good slate of candidates" to put their hand up for the top job of Australia's premier oil and gas producer, in the wake of chief executive Don Voelte's decision to retire next year.

Mr Voelte, a former Mobil executive who joined Woodside in 2004, today announced plans to retire int he second half of next year in order to give the company sufficient time to find a suitable successor. By the time he leaves, he will have headed the company for over seven years.

The outspoken Nebraskan, who became a passionate Dockers supporter after the company became the team's major sponsor last year, has overseen a period of unparalleled success at Woodside in which the company's shares have doubled in value.

During his reign, the company has become Australia's biggest standalone producer of liquefied natural gas and stands to become one of the western world's biggest individual LNG producers as projects such as Pluto, Browse and Sunrise come onstream over the next decade.

It has also jettisoned projects in higher risk overseas locations to focus on buildings its core oil and gas business in Australia.

Mr Voelte said 2011 was a logical time to hand over to a successor, as it would be between the start of production from the $13 billion Pluto LNG early next year and the final planning and expected approval of the massive Browse LNG project in 2012 and the Sunrise LNG project sometime after.

Leaving next year would give time for the new chief executive to "own" those projects and bring them to fruition, he said. It would also allow a "seamless transition", he said.

Woodside has launched a comprehensive global search for a new chief that will consider both internal and external candidates..

Given Woodside's unique status as a rapidly emerging world leader in the LNG sector with a strong record of successfully delivering projects and shareholder returns, Mr Chaney said he expected a big field of candidates or the job from far and wide.

In particular, he expected strong interest from senior executives from major overseas energy groups eager to take on the challenge of running such a fast growing and independent company.

"I think you'd expect to (see that)," Mr Chaney told reporters.

"Woodside has a great reputation and I think it would be attractive to a wide range of people.

"Of course, there's always an issue in attracting someone to Perth, which people - unlike us - see as remote.

"But that hasn't proved to be an obstacle in the past, and I think given the attractions of the job, we should have a good slate of candidates."

Mr Chaney said executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, which will undertake the search, was also working with "9 or 10" senior Woodside executives as part of a leadership development program.

That group is believed to include several leading internal contenders, including Pluto chief Lucio Della Martina, North West Shelf boss Kevin Gallagher, and director and general counsel Robert Cole.

Mr Chaney said Mr Voelte's successor was more likely to come from within the industry, but the company was open to candidates from other sectors provided they had a proven record of shareholder returns.

"What we're unlikely to do is take somebody who is an empire-building person - growth for growth's sake," he said. "We want to get somebody who has the primary objective of proving good shareholder returns."

Mr Voelte, who broke the news of his retirement to 1400 Woodside employees at a staff briefing at the Perth Convention Centre this morning, admitted it had been an emotional decision to make.

"It's a very tough day for me, it's a company I've really enjoyed working for, it's the best job I've ever had," he said.

Mr Voelte said he said his successor would face a number of challenges, but that he was confident Woodside faced an even brighter future as it developed its world class suite of LNG assets.

"I have nothing but the full expectation that the employees and leadership team take this company to even better heights in the future, and I'm going to be watching every day," he said.

"The best days of this company are still to come, let me guarantee you."

Though he was unlikely to lead a public company again, he was not planning to "shrivel and die" and had a long list of things he wanted to do on his return to the United States, most notably spend more time with family.

"There's lots of things left to do in life; number one I want to be a great husband, a great father, grandfather; I really want to spend some time with my mother and take care of some things that being half a world away from where they are has been difficult but do-able," he said.

Mr Voelte and Mr Chaney flew to the North West this afternoon to brief 300 Woodside staff based in Karratha.