BP pledges $23bn in UK energy investment over next decade
BP plans to invest £18bn ($23bn) in various areas of the UK energy system by 2030, from North Sea oil and gas to offshore wind, electric vehicle charging networks, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, the UK major reported on May 3.
"We're backing Britain. It's been our home for over 110 years, and we've been investing in North Sea oil and gas for more than 50 years," CEO Bernard Looney said in a statement. "We're fully committed to the UK's energy transition – providing reliable home-grown energy and, at the same time, focusing on the drive to net zero."
BP's investment plan includes developing the Murlach, Kate and Mungo fields that surround the ETAP hub it operates in the central North Sea, and the Clair and Schiehallion fields West of Shetland. It also said it would invest in further exploration around its existing hubs, and continue its electrification programme to curb emissions at its platforms.
The UK major is also developing 3 GW of wind power capacity in the Irish Sea with EnBW, and has a lease option for a further 2.9 GW of capacity off the east coast of Scotland. Onshore, it is involved in the H2 Teesside blue hydrogen and HyGreen Teesside green hydrogen projects in northeast England, set to produce 1.5 GW of the low-carbon fuel by 2030.
The company is also leading the Northern Endurance Partnership carbon storage initiative, which will handle almost half of all UK industrial CO2 emissions, as well as Net Zero Teesside Power – a project to create the world's first commercial scale gas-fired power plant equipped with carbon capture facilities.