Some European oil and gas giants are expanding their portfolios in the offshore wind sector. Analysts said the offshore wind business offered a good route for oil companies to spend their budgets targeted at increasing renewable power capacity and reach their climate goal. BP became the latest to embark on the offshore wind business after acquiring 50% stakes in two US offshore wind developments from Norway’s Equinor in a $1.1 billion deal.
Equinor along with Japan’s Jera and J-Power set up a consortium to bid for offshore wind power projects in Akita, Japan. Royal Dutch Shell and energy firm Eneco won a tender to build a 750 MW offshore wind project in the Netherlands, with construction expected to start in 2023.
Total formed a partnership with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group to develop five offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 2.3 GW in South Korea. The partnership aims at starting the construction of the first 500-MW project at the end of 2023. Earlier this year, the French energy group also bought a 51% stake in SSE’s 1,075-MW Seagreen 1 British offshore wind farm project which is expected to be completed in 2022-2023.
