BP in talks regarding battery re-charging docks

Oil company seeks to benefit from shift away from fossil fuels

LONDON: British Petroleum (BP) is in talks with electric vehicle makers on partnering to offer battery re-charging docks at its global network of fuel service stations as it seeks to benefit from the move away from diesel and petrol cars, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said on Tuesday.

The expected rapid growth in the use of electric vehicles in the coming decades is threatening oil companies’ business model as demand for some road fuels could plateau as early as the late 2020s, according to some oil company estimates.



Looking to take a slice of the growing market, London-based BP is, however, examining different ways to get involved in the sector.

“We have discussions going on with a lot of electric vehicle manufacturers to have a tie-up with our retail network for charging,” Dudley said in an interview.



Rival Royal Dutch Shell has already launched a pilot scheme to install battery charging docks at a few of its service stations in Britain and the Netherlands.

The number of electric vehicles on roads is forecast to grow significantly in the coming decades, particularly in cities, with BP estimating that there will be 100 million by 2035, up from 1.2 million in 2015.

Dudley has been a vocal advocate of the oil and gas industry’s need to take part in the move away from fossil fuels towards using cleaner sources of energy in order to combat global warming.

But BP, along with rivals including Shell, has yet to come up with a clear plan for increasing their interests in renewable energy production such as solar and wind.

“We’ll be ready for this world, but we’re not going to dive in too deeply,” he said, referring to BP’s previously unsuccessful ventures into renewable energy, including solar power.



BP will make investments in future technologies, but these will be small percentage stakes in companies or partnering with them, he said.

Dudley said BP was also studying autonomous vehicles and the potential for combining natural gas with solar power generation.

Oil companies are also using venture capital funds to invest in new energy technologies. Shell, for example, announced on Tuesday an investment in a Singapore-based solar firm Sunseap Group.

This year is shaping up to be pivotal for BP as it starts the largest number of new projects in a single year and the huge series of payments made in penalties and compensation for the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico taper off.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2017.

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