The oil and gas company BP has agreed to join Statkraft and Aker to develop offshore wind energy in Norway.
The partnership – in which bp, Statkraft and Aker Offshore Wind will each hold a 33.3% share – will pursue a bid to develop offshore wind power in the Sørlige Nordsjø II (SN2) licence area.
bp has interests in the offshore wind sector in the both the US and UK and a longstanding onshore wind business in the US. It brings strong North Sea development and operating experience, international energy trading capabilities and a disciplined financial framework to the partnership.
Dev Sanyal, bp’s executive vice president of gas & low carbon energy, said:
“bp aims to grow our renewables business at scale and we see great opportunities in offshore wind energy. We have decades of offshore experience in the North Sea and will also bring our extensive trading capabilities and strong relationships in Europe. Coming together with Aker and Statkraft, we believe this consortium will be ideally positioned to effectively and efficiently grow and deliver clean power for European markets, as well as strengthen the supply to Norway when needed.”
Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, chief executive of Statkraft, said:
“We have extensive capability from the development and operation of onshore wind around the world and experience in significant offshore wind projects in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Strong growth, decreasing technology costs and the involvement of industrial and financial players all indicate the rising role that offshore wind will play in Europe. Our partnership with Aker and bp will create meaningful value and contribute towards Europe’s energy transition.”
