BHP cushioned from geopolitical shocks, incoming boss says

Global miner BHP is cushioned against Australia’s rapidly rising diesel fuel prices and supply chain insecurity, the resource giant’s outgoing executive Mike Henry and new boss Brandon Craig say, but higher costs will feed into commodity prices.

Henry will leave the top job at BHP and hand over to Craig in July, stepping down after six years as chief executive at one of the world’s biggest mining companies.

Craig, a mining engineer with more than 25 years’ experience at BHP, was announced as new chief executive on Wednesday, a surprise choice for some who thought BHP’s minerals Australia president Geraldine Slattery and chief financial officer Vandita Pant were well-placed contenders.

The changeover coincided with another CEO appointment in Australia’s multibillion-dollar resources industry as Perth-based Woodside Energy handed Liz Westcott the top job. Westcott has been the oil and gas giant’s interim CEO since Meg O’Neill left in December to lead London-based global energy giant BP.

Her appointment on a permanent basis lands at a critical time for the company: drone strikes on Qatar have forced the shutdown of a key plant in the region that produces up to one-fifth of worldwide liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, unleashing a scramble among major Asian energy buyers to lock in alternative cargoes of the fuel. Gas prices in Europe and Asia have since skyrocketed as a result, handing potential windfalls to Australian LNG giants such as Woodside.

A former high-ranking executive at American oil major ExxonMobil and electric utility EnergyAustralia, Westcott said it was a “fast-moving and volatile time”.

“Price volatility is something we are used to in our industry,” she said. “What we are seeing now shows the importance … of being a reliable supplier to our customers.”

Outgoing BHP chief executive Henry said the miner was keeping a close watch on its supply chain security as the war in Iran continued to choke global oil supplies and push up the cost of diesel that powers much of BHP’s mining operations.

“We have our own [diesel] storage, [and] solid supplier relationships,” Henry said. “We continue to operate the business as normal, just with higher input costs, but it’s something that we watch day by day and then look at how things are playing out in the world around us.”

He added that higher input costs would be partly reflected in how commodity prices “play out”.

Craig said the quality of BHP’s mines were a protection against geopolitical shocks.

“When you think through the lens of geopolitical risk, it... reinforces how important it is to think through the quality of the portfolio we have,” Craig said.

“There’s no doubt it’s a pretty interesting time,” he said of the global instability confronting the company and the broader world. “I think what’s going to be really critical is to continue to focus on building really strong relationships with both governments and customers.”

South African-born Craig is now BHP’s Americas president, running the global resource giant’s Canadian, US and South American operations.

Before winning what BHP chair Ross McEwan referred to as a “robust” succession process, he headed up its Pilbara iron ore business.

McEwan said Craig’s appointment followed a formal succession process.

“When Mike advised me of his intention to step down, the board considered a number of high-quality candidates,” McEwan said. “Brandon’s experience and skills are the perfect match for our next CEO. He is clear on the strategy and how we can continue to drive outperformance at BHP. We’re excited.”

It’s the season for CEO succession at resource giants. Rio Tinto, BHP’s biggest rival, also recently reinvigorated its leadership, appointing its former head of iron ore Simon Trott as chief executive to replace Jakob Stausholm last August.

Henry, who has run BHP since 2020, said he was proud of his achievements and that he left with the company well positioned for growth.

The Canadian-born executive shifted BHP’s focus towards “future-facing” commodities such as copper, nickel and potash, positioning the company to take advantage of a boom in the minerals that will underpin the world’s energy transition away from fossil fuels.

He oversaw BHP simplify its structure as a duel-listed company in 2022, spun off its petroleum business in a merger with Woodside, sold lower-tier coal assets, and acquired Oz Minerals to boost its copper output.

The allure of the red metal prompted Henry to twice take a tilt at Anglo American and its copper portfolio. Both attempts ended with BHP walking away: first in May, and then after another, last-ditch attempt in November last year.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets reacted positively to Craig’s appointment. “[He] is a long-tenured BHP executive with deep operational experience across both iron ore and copper, and has played a central role in advancing BHP’s current growth pipeline,” they said.

“We would expect continued focus on large, low-cost tier-one assets and growth in future-facing commodities, particularly copper and potash, alongside ongoing capital discipline.”

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