Woodside Petroleum shareholders have voted on a $US2.7 billion ($A2.92 billion) plan to buy back shares from Royal Dutch Shell.
Chairman Michael Chaney said he expects the vote to fail but the results of the vote will not be available until this afternoon.
"We won't be able to announce the results at the meeting," Mr Chaney told shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting in Perth on Friday.
Mr Chaney said three or four major shareholders, making up 16 per cent of the company's register, had decided to vote against the buy back, with one voting against the move this week.
" It's unfortunate that it appears that it won't go through but it's not a disaster by any means," Mr Chaney told shareholders.
"Shell has now been reduced to 13.5 per cent (holding) as a result of the arrangements we had and we still have the money and we still are focused n shareholder returns and capital management."
Despite opposition from some shareholders at the meeting Mr Chaney said the board still believed the buy back was in the overall interest of shareholders.
However, he revealed that communications with some proxy advisers had been difficult.
"One of the problems with proxy advisers is that some of them won't talk to you before they put out their recommendations and once they make their recommendations it's too late."
He said the company was "a little bit offended" by the suggestion that the deal appeared to only suit Shell.
Around 71.3 per cent of votes cast ahead of the meeting were in favour of the buyback, well below the 75 per cent needed for the proposal to go ahead.
Shell, which is Woodside's largest shareholder, announced in June it would sell 19 per cent of its $6.3 billion stake.
The buyback proposal is part of an effort to reduce Shell's stake in the company, which is the legacy of a 2001 takeover attempt that was blocked by then federal Treasurer Peter Costello.
The desire to split is mutual, with Woodside keen to remove the overhang that has capped its share price for years while Shell is in the middle of a $15 billion global asset sale.
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