[10] In 2001 Shell sought to buy out the remaining portion of the company that it did not already own at the time; however, the takeover move was blocked by Treasurer of Australia, Peter Costello, on national interest grounds.

[21] Woodside has exploration, development and operating activities in Australia and a number of international regions including Canada, United States, Senegal, South Korea, New Zealand, Myanmar, Cameroon, Gabon, Morocco and Ireland.

[23][24] The project includes a floating production unit, the drilling of 13 wells, and a 430 km (270 mi) pipeline to transport the gas to the onshore Pluto LNG processing facility near Karratha, which will be expanded.

[29] Woodside Energy Group also has Burrup Hub, the largest fossil fuel project currently proposed in Australia, involving the extraction of six untapped gas fields and the drilling of 84 wells off the Western Australian coast.

[31][32] The "controversial" amendments, which Mauritanian authorities declared had been signed "outside the legal framework of normal practice, to the great detriment of our country", could cost Mauritania up to $200 million a year.

[35][36] In 2006–2007, as part of the Pluto LNG project, Woodside faced opposition over plans to build an onshore processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia, as the site is home to significant petroglyphs up to 30,000 years old.

[42] In April 2011 Australia's Fair Work Ombudsman began an investigation into claims that foreign workers were underpaid on two North West Shelf oil rigs operated by Woodside Petroleum.

Documents tendered to the court claimed that the four men worked as painters on Woodside rigs on the North West Shelf off northern WA from July 2009 until early 2011.

[44] In the corporation's annual offshore performance report, published in mid-2013, the failure of an oil mist detector at Woodside Petroleum's Vincent oilfield in Western Australia was caused by faulty wiring and inadequately designed equipment.

The Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility described the affair as a ‘week of shame.’[47] In mid-2020, Woodside tried to avoid decommissioning costs by convincing regulators that dumping all the equipment from its Echo-Yodel field, including 400 tonnes of plastic, under the pretence of the waste being an 'artificial reef'.

[51] A protest concert was held at Federation Square in October 2012,[52] followed by a second event in early 2013 at Esplanade Park, Fremantle that featured Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens political party.

[53] A march to protest the proposed gas refinery construction at James Price Point accompanied the Fremantle concert, and campaign supporters were photographed with banners and placards.

[55] The proposal was eventually abandoned in April 2013 because of protestors and political resistance, including from some local Aboriginal people, but the $1.5 billion social benefits package that had been brokered between the Kimberley Land Council and Woodside, together with its joint-venture partners and the Barnett government, remained an ongoing issue.

have argued that the directors of Woodside have breached their duties under the Corporations Act by authorizing any payments because the project did not proceed and the local Aboriginal leaders were just being gifted free money that would never be appropriately accounted for, and would not assist any truly disadvantaged person to change their lives for the better.

[26] In June 2022, the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) on behalf of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) sought an injunction against Woodside's Scarborough gas project due to its potential climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.

[64]Some of the actions taken by these groups have faced significant backlash, such as a protest staged at CEO Meg O'Neill's private residence, which was widely condemned by academic, political and business leaders as "unacceptable" conduct.

In 2019, the company became a major sponsor of Perth's PrideFEST,[68] a decision that drew criticism from activists who argued that corporate sponsorship undermines the radical spirit of the Pride movement.

Pettit emphasised the devastating impact of climate change on marginalised communities and urged Pride WA to prioritise sponsors who are actively working to address these issues.