BP Positioned for Energy Transition: E&P Chief

"The role gas needs to play in the transition can’t be overstated," BP upstream chief Bernard Looney told the IP Week conference February 22.

Renewables would grow globally on average by around 7% a year out to 2035, but even then will provide only one-tenth of world energy needs, he said.

"Even on a faster than likely track to reduce emissions, oil and gas are still expected to provide around half of the energy mix by 2035. Demand for gas is growing faster than oil – we project 1.6% a year to 2035."

"Gas is a cleaner, lower carbon alternative to coal, and is abundant in supply. Gas is a growing proportion of BP’s portfolio and six out of seven of our start-ups this year are gas projects," he told the morning session of the IP Week event in London.

BP had added to its gas position in Egypt, by last week completing its purchase of a 10% interest in the giant Zohr field. The UK major is also working with state China National Petroleum Corporation in China to explore for shale gas, had increased its interest in Oman, and now too has access to fields off Mauritania and Senegal operated by US partner Kosmos Energy with "enormous potential to produce significant volumes of gas very competitively."

BP upstream chief Bernard Looney (Photo credit: BP)

"These are just some of the recent choices we’ve been making and we will be sharing more of our plans with the market next week when we deliver an update on our strategy," said Looney, referring to a presentation to investors on February 28.

Looney said that natural gas is the power generation feedstock of choice for many places and a flexible baseload back-up to renewables.

"The growth in LNG is increasing the accessibility of gas around the globe and leading us towards a more globally integrated gas market. The winners won’t simply be the most efficient operators. They will be the ones who can assemble large-scale, long-term projects that take gas from where it can be most efficiently produced to where it is most urgently needed. In the last decade that has classically been within the US. We are also seeing demand ramp up in China and expect to see supply rise there too as Chinese shale becomes a major play. And of course, Europe is also hungry for gas."

Mark Smedley