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According to October 17, BP (bp) agreed to acquire Archaea Energy Inc., a biogas manufacturer, for about US$4.1 billion (approximately RMB 29.5 billion), which is another new breakthrough in the British energy giant's expansion into the low-carbon fuel field.
Archaea said in a statement that BP will acquire the company at $26 per share, a 38% premium to the average share price in the 30 days ending October 14. According to the statement, the Houston-based company is primarily responsible for collecting exhaust emissions from landfills and farms, and it will become an important part of the BP bioenergy business and accelerate its growth.
As oil prices are high, the available funds for oil giants have increased. Oil giants, including BP, have accelerated the transformation of green energy and have invested in bioenergy, hydrogen energy , wind power, solar power generation and other fields to accelerate the transformation of profit structures that rely on fossil fuels.
1. BP focuses on bioenergy
Since BP CEO Bernard Looney (Bernard Looney) has been in the leading position in the oil giant's efforts to reduce low carbon emissions and transform to cleaner energy. On February 13, 2020, BP announced that it will not only achieve the group's "net zero" goal by 2050, but will also help the world move towards the goal of zero emissions. At that time, the new CEO Bernard Looney said: "The goal of ( zero carbon ) is not just to spend more money, but to invest wisely in companies that will change the world."
Archaea Energy was founded in April 2021 and is one of the largest renewable natural gas (RNG) producers in the United States, producing approximately 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent RNG per day. 50 RNG and landfill "gas-to-energy" facilities are operated in the United States, and RNG capacity is expected to grow by about five times by 2030. According to Archaea's official website, the main help of their business to the environment is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas methane.
Archaea complies with BP "'s strategic focus on bioenergy ", Archaea CEO and co-founder Nick Stoke said in a statement. The agreement will “enhance the role of renewable natural gas in helping customers achieve their long-term climate goals.” After the transaction of
is completed, Archaea Energy will become a subsidiary of bp. BP said the acquisition will accelerate the growth of its bioenergy business and help expand its biogas business in the United States, which is a major breakthrough for BP in bioenergy.
It is worth noting that not only BP, but many oil giants have increased their investment in the biofuel field. For example, in June this year, Chevron announced that it had completed its acquisition of the U.S. renewable energy group, with a total acquisition price of US$3.15 billion. The US Renewable Energy Group conducts business of making light oil and aviation fuel using waste oil and vegetable oil as raw materials.
Total also plans to invest more than US$584.1 million to transform its Grampuit refinery in France and switch production in 2024. By then, biorefineries will produce aviation fuel, biodiesel and bionaphtha for bioplastic . Total expects global biofuel demand to double by 2030 and may increase by 4 times by 2050. Compared with fossil fuels, biofuels can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 50%.
2. Investment in renewable energy may surpass upstream oil and gas
Under the pressure of low-carbon transformation, the global oil giants with record high profits have all turned their attention to low-carbon tracks including bioenergy and hydrogen.Companies including BP, Total and Shell have all said that they will continue to invest more and more cash flow in low-carbon energy , and at the same time, the situation of changing fossil fuel as the main source of income . Research by Rystad Energy, an energy consulting firm, shows that the potential return period for renewable energy is less than one year, which may trigger a competition for renewable energy asset development purely based on the project economy. Capital investment in renewable energy has also increased significantly, with an estimated $494 billion this year, surpassing the $446 billion for upstream oil and natural gas . This is the first time that renewable energy investment has exceeded oil and gas . "Countries are rushing to find safe and affordable energy. This year, capital investment in renewable energy will surpass oil and natural gas for the first time. In some cases, the return on investment of renewable energy projects in may be shortened to less than one year, and investment in renewable energy may further increase in the future." The pace of renewable energy investment among major oil giants has been wave after wave. In July this year, BP decided to purchase 40.5% of the stake in , an Asian renewable energy center located in Australia. BP hopes to occupy 10% of the global hydrogen energy market. BP CEO Bernard Looney said: "Asian renewable energy centers have the potential to become one of the largest renewable and green hydrogen energy centers in the world. This investment is crucial for BP to achieve its goals."
htmlOn June 17, US oil giant Chevron said at the hydrogen energy summit held by the UK Financial Times in London that the company will invest in establishing its hydrogen energy business and will invest US$2.5 billion in green and blue hydrogen by 2028, hoping to become a part of global clean hydrogen energy growth.
Total Energy announced the acquisition of 25% of the shares of India's Adani Company. The two parties plan to invest more than US$50 billion in the green hydrogen field within 10 years, build "the world's largest green hydrogen ecosystem" in India, and achieve an annual output of 1 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030.
Saudi Arabia Oil giant Aramco aims to produce 12 gigawatts of wind and solar energy, as well as 2 million tons of blue hydrogen production capacity.
Spanish oil giant Repsol also plans to use three technologies to achieve green hydrogen production, seeking to align with the Spanish government's goal of transforming the country into an important hydrogen transport center in Europe. These three technologies are: using renewable electricity to generate hydrogen from water, extracting hydrogen from gas generated by biological sources, and using sunlight to produce hydrogen from water.
Last September, Shell completed the acquisition of Indian renewable energy startup Spenger Energy. It is reported that Shell established a new energy business unit in 2016, mainly committed to investment in renewable energy and low-carbon energy, and launched a series of actions such as building electric vehicle charging stations, hydrogen fuel vehicle hydrogen refueling stations, and investing in solar energy and wind power.
