The British hydrocarbon giant BP announced on Monday the acquisition of U.S. producer of 'renewable' gas Archaea Energy for $4.1 billion, including $800 million through debt.
Archea produces gas, mainly methane, from waste from landfills or digesters of organic matter from livestock or food.
BP hopes with this operation to “significantly increase its bioenergy activities” and is counting on the acquisition to “support (its) progress towards (its) objective of carbon neutrality,” the company said in a press release.
The operation must still be approved by the regulatory authorities and by Archaea's shareholders.
“The global demand for biogas is growing rapidly,” argues BP. The production of “biogas” requires less energy and is therefore less polluting than the extraction of natural gas by drilling or hydraulic fracturing.
It also prevents methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from escaping into the atmosphere.
However, biogas emits CO2 when consumed.
