Friday 25 March 2022

bp and Marubeni in offshore wind tie-up in Japan

British energy giant bp is partnering with Japanese firm Marubeni to explore offshore wind development in Japan.

Under the agreement, bp will join Marubeni in its proposal for an offshore wind project in the country, buying a 49% stake in the proposed project.

The two companies also plan to potentially team up for other decarbonisation projects, including hydrogen.

The project supports Japan's target of deploying 10GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030 and between 20GW to 45GW by 2040 and becoming carbon-neutral by 2050.

Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, bp’s Executive Vice President of gas & low carbon energy said: “We are unlocking new regions and new opportunities for bp. Combining our international energy expertise and technical capabilities with Marubeni’s track record of wind and energy development and first-class regional relationships, we can together build important new clean energy resources for Japan and Asia.

“We want to continue to build on bp’s offshore wind portfolio – and we can’t wait to get to work in Japan with Marubeni.”

bp has been operating in Japan since 1960 and has an oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading and Castrol lubricants business.

Last year, it agreed to work with Japanese shipping company NYK Line on future fuels and transportation solutions to support decarbonisation of the shipping industry.