Oil and gas company BP is merging its offshore wind operations with a Japanese electricity company. The new venture will manage three wind farms off the Belgian coast, L'Echo reports.
British multinational BP and Japanese electricity company Jera announced on Monday that they are merging their offshore wind farm construction and operation activities.
The new joint venture, Jera Nex BP, plans to invest up to $5.8 billion in offshore wind by 2030. Jera Nex already has more than one gigawatt of operational wind farms.
Belgian company Parkwind is central to the new venture, as it was acquired by Jera last year for more than €1.5 billion.
Led by Belgian Nathalie Oosterlinck, Parkwind has become the hub of Jera's offshore activities. As part of the merger, BP now holds shares in Parkwind's three Belgian wind farms: Belwind, Nobelwind, and Northwester 2.
The joint venture also includes a German wind farm built by Parkwind, and a vast portfolio of projects under development. BP has rights to offshore sites in the United States and the United Kingdom. Parkwind is also considering other tenders, notably in France and Belgium, where the auction of the first lot of the new Princess Elisabeth zone recently began.
Despite the scale of planned investment by the joint venture, the move has been seen as a step backwards for BP in terms of green energy.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said that the merger is a "strong vehicle to grow globally in an increasingly electric world, while maintaining a low capital model for our shareholders."
A spokesperson for the oil giant said that the company would invest an additional $3.25 billion in offshore wind power by 2030, instead of the $10 billion previously promised.
