Looking Beyond Petroleum

It was only ever a matter of time.

Following a torrid twelve months, the firm once heralded by some clever marketing wags as Beyond Petroleum has finally pulled the plug.

Last week BP put its North American wind business on the block and began scouting for potential buyers.

Naturally the energy giant has been quick to position the sale as part of a wider North American refocus built around its solid prospects in oil and gas.

And who can blame them for looking for growth. Particularly following the recent record fine levied on the business after the Macondo blowout.

In this respect, current estimates anticipating that the firm will be shelling out an eye watering $42bn in costs for the disaster help put the numbers for a potential wind energy sale in perspective.

Yes, the firm has assets in US wind that are estimated to be worth as much as $3.1bn and that include 16 operational wind farms in nine states.

And yes, this currently includes a solid pipeline of 2GW at various stages of planning, construction and consent.

However, those numbers pale into insignificance when you’ve got costs in other areas of the business that show no signs of getting any smaller.

And that’s the thing. For while BP has undoubtedly injected the wind energy market with some fresh thinking and fresh capital, its foray into the renewable energy market was always more about posturing and politics than in truly investing in and backing new energy markets.

Sure, some within the market will be nervous. It’s understandable. Particularly since BP was one of the ten biggest owners of commissioned wind turbines within North America.

However, with the energy giant’s departure, new opportunities for overseas investment will undoubtedly emerge, with some market participants already betting on strong interest from China and Korea.

To what extent that interest is tempered by the ongoing maintenance and re-powering of the turbine fleet is of course a moot point.

Nevertheless, with BP having already withdrawn from its solar operations and with a recent Scottish carbon capture initiative scrapped, nobody is under any illusion that the energy giant is undergoing a renewable retreat.

It was only ever a matter of time.

Following a torrid twelve months, the firm once heralded by some clever marketing wags as Beyond Petroleum has finally pulled the plug.

Last week BP put its North American wind business on the block and began scouting for potential buyers.

Naturally the energy giant has been quick to position the sale as part of a wider North American refocus built around its solid prospects in oil and gas.

And who can blame them for looking for growth. Particularly following the recent record fine levied on the business after the Macondo blowout.

In this respect, current estimates anticipating that the firm will be shelling out an eye watering $42bn in costs for the disaster help put the numbers for a potential wind energy sale in perspective.

Yes, the firm has assets in US wind that are estimated to be worth as much as $3.1bn and that include 16 operational wind farms in nine states.

And yes, this currently includes a solid pipeline of 2GW at various stages of planning, construction and consent.

However, those numbers pale into insignificance when you’ve got costs in other areas of the business that show no signs of getting any smaller.

And that’s the thing. For while BP has undoubtedly injected the wind energy market with some fresh thinking and fresh capital, its foray into the renewable energy market was always more about posturing and politics than in truly investing in and backing new energy markets.

Sure, some within the market will be nervous. It’s understandable. Particularly since BP was one of the ten biggest owners of commissioned wind turbines within North America.

However, with the energy giant’s departure, new opportunities for overseas investment will undoubtedly emerge, with some market participants already betting on strong interest from China and Korea.

To what extent that interest is tempered by the ongoing maintenance and re-powering of the turbine fleet is of course a moot point.

Nevertheless, with BP having already withdrawn from its solar operations and with a recent Scottish carbon capture initiative scrapped, nobody is under any illusion that the energy giant is undergoing a renewable retreat.

It was only ever a matter of time.

Following a torrid twelve months, the firm once heralded by some clever marketing wags as Beyond Petroleum has finally pulled the plug.

Last week BP put its North American wind business on the block and began scouting for potential buyers.

Naturally the energy giant has been quick to position the sale as part of a wider North American refocus built around its solid prospects in oil and gas.

And who can blame them for looking for growth. Particularly following the recent record fine levied on the business after the Macondo blowout.

In this respect, current estimates anticipating that the firm will be shelling out an eye watering $42bn in costs for the disaster help put the numbers for a potential wind energy sale in perspective.

Yes, the firm has assets in US wind that are estimated to be worth as much as $3.1bn and that include 16 operational wind farms in nine states.

And yes, this currently includes a solid pipeline of 2GW at various stages of planning, construction and consent.

However, those numbers pale into insignificance when you’ve got costs in other areas of the business that show no signs of getting any smaller.

And that’s the thing. For while BP has undoubtedly injected the wind energy market with some fresh thinking and fresh capital, its foray into the renewable energy market was always more about posturing and politics than in truly investing in and backing new energy markets.

Sure, some within the market will be nervous. It’s understandable. Particularly since BP was one of the ten biggest owners of commissioned wind turbines within North America.

However, with the energy giant’s departure, new opportunities for overseas investment will undoubtedly emerge, with some market participants already betting on strong interest from China and Korea.

To what extent that interest is tempered by the ongoing maintenance and re-powering of the turbine fleet is of course a moot point.

Nevertheless, with BP having already withdrawn from its solar operations and with a recent Scottish carbon capture initiative scrapped, nobody is under any illusion that the energy giant is undergoing a renewable retreat.