BP, Nouryon, and the Port of Rotterdam are collaborating to see whether there are ways of making ‘green hydrogen’ through water electrolysis for BP’s refinery, located in the Port of Rotterdam. The parties signed an MoU to study the feasibility of a 250-megawatt water electrolysis facility to produce up to 45,000 tonnes of green hydrogen yearly using renewable energy. It would be the largest of its kind in Europe.
BP announced that it has created a $100 million fund for projects that will deliver new greenhouse gas emissions reductions in its upstream oil and gas operations. The Upstream Carbon Fund will provide further support to BP’s work generating sustainable greenhouse gas emissions reductions in its operations. Total funds of up to $100 million will be available during the course of the next three years.
BP Marine announced that it will begin to retail low sulphur fuel that complies with upcoming MARPOL regulations which are limiting the sulphur content of marine fuels. Namely, BP will be introducing the new very low sulphur fuel oil, with a maximum 0.5% sulphur content, after conducting successful sea trials in the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp and Singapore hubs.
BP informed that it is ready to sell a very low sulphur fuel oil ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap which bans polluting fuels for the shipping industry. The company now aims to retail the new 0.5% sulphur VLSFO worldwide. BP developed a marine fuel offer that includes the new VLSFO, as well as marine gas oil and high sulphur fuel oil for ships that have scrubbers.
In its Energy Outlook for 2019, BP reports that the transport sector will continue to be dominated by oil, despite the increasing penetration of alternative fuels, and particularly electricity and natural gas. Oil used in transport will rise by 4 Mb/d (220 Mtoe), with most of that demand deriving from increased use in aviation and marine, rather than road transportation.
BP published its Energy outlook for 2019, exploring key uncertainties that could impact global energy markets up until 2040. The greatest uncertainties over this period regard the need for more energy to support rising global economic growth and prosperity, along with the need for faster transition to a lower-carbon future. The Outlook also analyzes the possible impact of an escalation in trade disputes and the consequences of a tightening in the regulation of plastics.
Oil and gas company BP started its first gas production from the second stage of its West Nile Delta development offshore Egypt. The project that produces gas from the Giza and Fayoum fields, was developed as a deepwater, long-distance tie-back to an existing onshore plant. Therefore, BP reported that the start-up highlights the second in a string of new upstream major projects expected to be brought online in 2019 for BP.
London-based oil major BP announced it will support a call from investor participants of the Climate Action 100+ initiative, for the company to broaden its corporate reporting to describe how its strategy is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Investors proposed a resolution to be put to shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in May 2019.
BP Ventures has invested $5 million in Artificial Intelligence and named it ‘Sandy’, aiming to improve its upstream digital capabilities. This investment, boosts the company’s continuous work on exploring opportunities to apply machine learning and cognitive computing in its global oil and gas business. It is directed at the Houston technology start-up Belmont Technology, a company that has developed a cloud-based geoscience platform using artificial intelligence (AI).
According to Wood Mackenzie, five themes will dominate the market in 2019, including the comeback of North Sea exploration and, although the deal spend will slow, it will remain the seller’s market. WoodMac also sees an increase in development expenditure in 2019 but production will remain flat. In the end, companies with the lowest-cost projects will be the winners this year.
