BP weighs sale of minority stake in offshore wind business, sources say
CEO seeks to scale back BP's focus on renewables
BP seeks to reduce its spending in offshore wind
Company has projects in Britain, UK, Germany and Asia
By Andres Gonzalez and Ron Bousso
LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) -BP BP.L is considering selling a minority stake in its offshore wind business, according to four sources with knowledge of the matter, the latest effort by CEO Murray Auchincloss to scale back the energy company's focus on renewables.
The company has faced pressure from shareholders over its energy transition strategy, first launched in 2020, as renewables profit thinned while margins from oil and gas rose.
The London-listed oil company has lined up Bank of America BAC.N to find partners for the business, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the process is private. BP wants to reduce its share of the hefty investments required to develop these projects, two of the sources said.
A spokesperson for BP declined to comment.
BP remains committed to developing its major offshore wind projects, one source said. The company has also invested in solar, biofuels and low-carbon hydrogen in recent months.
Auchincloss, who took up the job in January, has vowed to revamp the company's plans to focus on the high-margin businesses, distancing himself from predecessor Bernard Looney's strategy to rapidly expand renewables and reduce oil and gas output.
BP's shares have trailed rivals so far this year amid investor concerns over its ability to sustain profits and shareholder payouts.
The company paused investments in new offshore wind projects, Reuters reported in June. Last month, BP said it plans to sell its U.S. onshore wind business.
The CEO has also said BP would sell a stake in its solar joint venture Lightsource BP once it completes its full acquisition in the coming months. He has also scrapped BP's flagship target to reduce oil and gas production by 25% between 2019 and 2030, sources told Reuters earlier this month.
BP currently does not have any offshore wind farms in operation. The offshore business has stakes in projects in Britain, Germany, the United States and Asia, and had a pipeline of projects with a capacity of 9.6 gigawatt at the end of June.
Last year, BP won the rights to develop, build and operate two plants in Germany with 4 GW capacity. BP committed to paying 6.7 billion euros ($7.27 billion) over a 20-year period when the projects become operational in the next decade.
In Britain, BP is also developing with its partner EnBW three windfarms in the Irish Sea and the North Sea with a combined capacity of 5.9 gigawatts.
The rapidly-growing offshore wind sector has had a tough few years as costs ballooned due to technical and supply chain problems as well as higher interest rates, leading many companies to review investments.
BP last year took an impairment of $1.1 billion related to its U.S. offshore wind projects, based on the company's annual statement. It later broke up a U.S. offshore wind joint venture with Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL.
Other companies are also reconsidering their investments in offshore wind, or have assumed impairments, due to the rising cost of developing wind farms that can be more than 100 kilometres offshore.
Macquarie has marked its offshore unit Corio for sale, Reuters has previously reported, and Orsted, the world's biggest offshore wind farm developer, trimmed its investment and capacity targets earlier this year.
Big Oil's share performance https://tmsnrt.rs/4fantZw
Reporting by Andres Gonzalez, editing by Jane Merriman
Mga Kaugnay na Asset
Pinakabagong Balita
Disclaimer: Ang mga kabilang sa XM Group ay nagbibigay lang ng serbisyo sa pagpapatupad at pag-access sa aming Online Trading Facility, kung saan pinapahintulutan nito ang pagtingin at/o paggamit sa nilalaman na makikita sa website o sa pamamagitan nito, at walang layuning palitan o palawigin ito, at hindi din ito papalitan o papalawigin. Ang naturang pag-access at paggamit ay palaging alinsunod sa: (i) Mga Tuntunin at Kundisyon; (ii) Mga Babala sa Risk; at (iii) Kabuuang Disclaimer. Kaya naman ang naturang nilalaman ay ituturing na pangkalahatang impormasyon lamang. Mangyaring isaalang-alang na ang mga nilalaman ng aming Online Trading Facility ay hindi paglikom, o alok, para magsagawa ng anumang transaksyon sa mga pinansyal na market. Ang pag-trade sa alinmang pinansyal na market ay nagtataglay ng mataas na lebel ng risk sa iyong kapital.
Lahat ng materyales na nakalathala sa aming Online Trading Facility ay nakalaan para sa layuning edukasyonal/pang-impormasyon lamang at hindi naglalaman – at hindi dapat ituring bilang naglalaman – ng payo at rekomendasyon na pangpinansyal, tungkol sa buwis sa pag-i-invest, o pang-trade, o tala ng aming presyo sa pag-trade, o alok para sa, o paglikom ng, transaksyon sa alinmang pinansyal na instrument o hindi ginustong pinansyal na promosyon.
Sa anumang nilalaman na galing sa ikatlong partido, pati na ang mga nilalaman na inihanda ng XM, ang mga naturang opinyon, balita, pananaliksik, pag-analisa, presyo, ibang impormasyon o link sa ibang mga site na makikita sa website na ito ay ibibigay tulad ng nandoon, bilang pangkalahatang komentaryo sa market at hindi ito nagtataglay ng payo sa pag-i-invest. Kung ang alinmang nilalaman nito ay itinuring bilang pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, kailangan mong isaalang-alang at tanggapin na hindi ito inilaan at inihanda alinsunod sa mga legal na pangangailangan na idinisenyo para maisulong ang pagsasarili ng pananaliksik sa pag-i-invest, at dahil dito ituturing ito na komunikasyon sa marketing sa ilalim ng mga kaugnay na batas at regulasyon. Mangyaring siguruhin na nabasa at naintindihan mo ang aming Notipikasyon sa Hindi Independyenteng Pananaliksik sa Pag-i-invest at Babala sa Risk na may kinalaman sa impormasyong nakalagay sa itaas, na maa-access dito.
