A group of "extremist" protesters accompanied by camera crews allegedly trespassed the family home of Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill on Tuesday morning.
The company said on Tuesday the actions of the activists were organised and deliberately designed to intimidate Ms O'Neill, her partner and daughter, who were at their City Beach residence at the time of the alleged incident at 6.45am.
Reports the camera crew were from the ABC were confirmed by the broadcaster later on Tuesday, with the contingent believed to be from interstate from its 4Corners program.
Woodside said in a statement the group's actions were a personal scare tactic that distracted constructive debate about the company's global investment in fossil fuel projects.
"This is an unacceptable escalation in activity designed to threaten and intimidate by an extremist group, which has no interest in engaging in respectful debate about Woodside's role in the transition towards a lower-carbon world," a company spokesperson said.
"Illegal activity like this only serves to distract from the real work being undertaken to achieve decarbonisation."
Ms O'Neill, who has been at the helm of the Perth-based oil and gas titan since August 2021, thanked the "swift response" of police to "ensure the safety" of her family.
"This was not a 'harmless protest'," she said.
"It was designed to threaten me, my partner and our daughter in our home.
"Such acts by extremists should be condemned by anyone who respects the law and believes people should be safe to go about their business at home and at work."
In June Woodside threatened to sue two climate protesters from the Disrupt Burrup Hub group for financial loss after accusations one member released a stink bomb at the base of the company's 32-storey office in Perth on June 1, which forced the evacuation of 1500 workers.
The Burrup Hub is a group of gas developments on the Burrup Peninsula near Karratha in WA's Pilbara region that will use gas from offshore fields operated by Woodside.
The $72 billion company also plans to develop the CO2-rich Browse fields and pipe the gas 1000km to the peninsula, to be processed at its North West Shelf gas export plant that it wants to operate until 2070.
There have been recent protests from climate activists concerned at the industrial pollution from the developments and the Woodside facilities themselves.
Tuesday's incident comes after former WA premier Carmen Lawrence and Australian Conservation Foundation First Nations lead Josie Alec on Monday delivered an 8000-strong petition from footy fans and nature lovers to the Fremantle Dockers.
The club's lucrative $2 million sponsorship deal with Woodside ends on October 31 and it has come under increasing pressure not to renew it.
The West Australian reported later on Tuesday that two men and a woman connected to the Disrupt Burrup Hub campaign were in police custody over the incident at Ms O'Neill's home but no charges have been laid.
