The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is under pressure on Wednesday.
In morning trade, the energy producer's shares are down 1% to $24.06.
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Why is the Woodside share price edging lower?
After the market close on Tuesday, Woodside provided an update on its CEO succession.
According to the release, the Woodside Board and its CEO, Peter Coleman, have agreed that Mr Coleman will retire from the role on 3 June 2021.
This follows an announcement in December stating Mr Coleman's intention to retire from Woodside in 2021, by which time he will have served ten years in the role of CEO.
What now?
Replacing Mr Coleman on an acting basis will be Woodside's Executive Vice President Development and Marketing, Meg O'Neill. She will commence in the role next week on 20 April.
Woodside's Chairman, Richard Goyder, commented: "Peter has been an outstanding CEO, creating a resilient and future-focused organisation. "Throughout his time at the helm of Woodside, Peter has demonstrated a commitment to promoting inclusion and diversity, operational excellence, a safe workplace, prudent capital management and maintenance of a strong balance sheet."
Mr Goyder spoke very positively about the appointment of Meg O'Neill as Acting CEO.
He said: "The Board is very pleased to announce the appointment of Meg O'Neill as Acting CEO. Meg has demonstrated that she is an extremely capable executive, underpinned by her extensive experience and track record in the global energy sector."
The company advised that its internal and external search for Woodside's next permanent CEO is progressing.
However, one person that won't be taking the role is Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) CEO, Kevin Gallagher. Earlier this week Santos gave him a one-off growth projects incentive to keep him in the role.
Oil price rise not enough
Mr Coleman's exit appears to have offset news of a rise in oil prices overnight following the release of strong economic data out of China.
According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.2% to US$60.41 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1% to US$63.91 a barrel.
