NEW DELHI: BP plc is raising its bet on India, the main driver of global energy demand growth, by holding its full board meeting in the country as the UK major’s exploration business faces climate and transition headwinds elsewhere.
This is the second time that the BP board is holding meetings in India, which coincides with at least two domestic players seeking technical and equity partnerships in their offshore projects.
The BP board had visited India for the first time in 2013, two years after acquiring 30% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd’s KG-D6 block off the Andhra coast for $7.2 billion.
This time, the visit coincides with state-run ONGC‘s ongoing bid to induct a global technical service partner to ramp up production from the producing Mumbai High field in the shallow waters off the Mumbai coast. Vedanta group’s Cairn Oil & Gas is also scouting for a partner to develop its western offshore deepwater block KG-DWN-2017/1 at an estimated investment of $4 billion.
BP fits the bill for both with its technical prowess and experience in developing offhsore fields, especially in deepwater. It is also among the few global companies that meet ONGC’s qualifying condition of $75 billion annual turnover.
BP has been in India for a century through its Castrol brand of lubricants. The partnership with Reliance put it in the thick of oil and gas industry in the country, developing three deepwater gas fields in the KG-D6 block. It has established presence in fuel retail and new-age mobility solutions under the Jio-BP brand and set up global business services centre and a digital hub in Pune.
The BP board members began their tour on Monday, with oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri hosting them at home over dinner. “BP is committed to working closely with the Government of India to support its changing energy needs. By leveraging our combined experience and expertise with our partners, we aim to facilitate the secure, affordable, and lower carbon growth of India’s energy resources to meet the increasing demand,” a company statement on Wednesday quoted BP chair Helge Lund as saying.
“India is an important part of BP’s strategy as we transform into an integrated energy company. Building on the century-old legacy with India through our Castrol brand, our presence across the gas value chain, mobility retail businesses and our global business and technology centre, we expect to grow a material business here, and help support India’s aspiration for energy independence by 2047,” it quoted country head Kartikeya Dube as saying.
