BP PLC (LSE:BP.) announced it will be take a 40.5% stake in a massive renewable energy venture in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, famous for its large-scale mining operations and access to Asian export routes.
The Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) project, which will combine solar and wind power, aims to deliver some 26 Gigawatts of renewable power capacity and at full capacity will also yield some 1.6mln tonnes of green hydrogen and 9mln tonnes of green ammonia.
"We believe AREH can be a cornerstone project for us in helping our local and global customers and partners in meeting their net zero and energy commitments,” Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP vice president for gas and low carbon energy, said in a statement.
“It will also serve as a long-term clean energy security contributor in Asia Pacific, helping countries such as South Korea and Japan to decarbonize."
Frédéric Baudry, president of BP Australia, added: “This is an incredibly exciting development, and we are looking forward to working closely with our partners.
“BP brings a broad range of capabilities to help bring the project to fruition, with extensive experience in constructing and operating facilities of this scale in remote locations in close collaboration with local communities and leveraging our global shipping and trading businesses.”
Altogether, the project is expected to have a capital bill in the “tens of billions”, according to a report by Reuters, though it is said to be too early to ascertain a more accurate estimate.
The AREH project has so far been developed by InterContinental Energy, CWP Global and enties of Australian investment bank Macquarie.
Following the deal, effective July 1, BP will own 40.5% of the project and will be the operator whilst InterContinental will retain 26.4%, CWP will have 17.8% and Macquarie will hold 15.3%.