London-based supermajor BP has joined forces with Japanese conglomerate Marubeni to explore a selected offshore wind development opportunity in Japan. The two have agreed to form a strategic partnership for offshore wind and potentially other decarbonisation projects, including hydrogen.
Under the deal, BP will join with Marubeni in its proposal for an offshore wind project off the coast of Japan, purchasing a 49% stake in the proposed project. As part of this agreement, BP will establish a local offshore wind development team in Tokyo.
“We are unlocking new regions and new opportunities for BP. Combining our international energy expertise and technical capabilities with Marubeni’s track record of wind and energy development and first-class regional relationships, we can together build important new clean energy resources for Japan and Asia. We want to continue to build on BP’s offshore wind portfolio – and we can’t wait to get to work in Japan with Marubeni,” said Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, EVP, gas & low carbon energy.
Japan is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050 and has set a target of deploying 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040. BP has been operating in Japan since 1960. Today it has a sizeable oil and LNG trading and Castrol lubricants business with Japanese customers and aims to continue to grow these businesses. In 2021, BP agreed to work with Japanese shipping giant NYK on future fuels and transportation solutions to support decarbonisation of the hard-to-abate shipping sector. BP already has an offshore wind development pipeline of more than 5 GW with projects in the US and UK. Marubeni has a total power generating capacity of about 12 GW and has been involved in the development and operation of more than 2 GW of onshore and offshore wind power globally.
