Latest news with #BP
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BP abandons green hydrogen project in Australia in shift towards oil and gas
(Reuters) -BP will exit its planned green hydrogen production facility in Australia as the British energy major pivots back to oil and gas, a spokesperson said on Thursday. The company has informed its partners in the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) that it intends to exit the project as operator and equity holder, the spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The oil major has slashed planned renewables spending and refocused investments to oil and gas after underperformance in recent months led to criticism from investors. The AREH aims to develop up to 26 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity to produce as much as 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year, making it one of the world's largest renewable energy projects. BP currently has a 63.57% stake in the project, according to the company's website. The other joint venture partners include privately owned InterContinental Energy and CWP Global. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Green Hydrogen Boom Fizzles as Projects Collapse Worldwide
Three weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA)' that pretty much sounded the death knell for the nascent green hydrogen sector. Whereas OBBBA did not outright cancel the Section 45V clean hydrogen production tax credits as earlier feared, it did accelerate the deadline for projects to begin construction to be eligible for the credit, bringing the deadline forward to December 31, 2027 from January 1, 2033 as originally envisioned in Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Losing 45V tax credits is likely to seriously erode the economic viability of many hydrogen projects in the country, with Louisiana set to feel the heat the most. The state's 46 hydrogen and ammonia-related projects are currently eligible for the credits. Louisiana is home to some of the biggest hydrogen projects in the United States, including Clean Hydrogen Works' $7.5 billion ammonia and blue hydrogen projects as well as Air Products (NYSE:APD)' $4.5 billion blue hydrogen plant. However, OBBBA is not solely to blame for the stalling hydrogen sector, with dozens of green hydrogen developers across the globe scaling back investments or scrapping them altogether thanks to weak demand for the low-carbon fuel coupled with soaring production year, U.S. startup Hy Stor Energy canceled its reservation for over 1 gigawatt of electrolyzer capacity with Nel, a Norwegian electrolyzer manufacturer, for its Mississippi Clean Hydrogen Hub project. The company said the move was due to market headwinds and delays in bringing the project to fruition, making it financially unfeasible to make upcoming capacity reservation payments. However, Hy Stor said it was not canceling the hydrogen hub itself. Back in February, Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Air Products announced plans to cancel several green hydrogen projects in the U.S., including a $500 million facility in New York and a sustainable aviation fuel project in California. These decisions are part of the company's broader $3.1 billion write-down and are driven by challenging commercial and regulatory factors, including the need to strengthen the company's focus on projects that deliver value for shareholders. Not even Europe's energy heavyweights have been spared the carnage. Last year, we reported that Shell Plc. (NYSE:SHEL) had scrapped plans to build a low-carbon hydrogen plant in Norway citing lack of demand, days before Norway's NOC Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) announced similar plans, "We haven't seen the market for blue hydrogen materialize and decided not to progress the project," a Shell spokesperson has told Reuters. BP Plc. (NYSE:BP) said in April that it was abandoning its hydrogen ambitions in favor of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transport. This week, BP announced that it will exit the $36-billion green hydrogen production facility planned in Australia. BP has informed its Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) partners that it will leave its role as the project's operator and equity holder. Last year, Spain's Iberdrola (OTCPK:IBDRY)(OTCPK:IBDSF), Europe's largest utility, said it would scale back its green hydrogen investments by almost two thirds due to funding delays for some projects. The company cut its 2030 production target to ~120,000 tons of green hydrogen a year, down from its previous goal of 350,000 tons. Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal S.A. (NYSE:MT) has abandoned plans to convert two of its steel plants in Germany to hydrogen, despite the steelmaker being offered 1.3 billion euros in public subsidies for the 2.5 billion euro ($2.9 billion) project. Meanwhile, back in February, Spain's Repsol (OTCQX: REPYY) scaled back its 2030 green hydrogen production target, cutting it by as much as 63%. The company's new target is between 0.7 and 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyzer capacity, down from a previous goal of 1.9 GW. Repsol cited challenges in market development, regulatory uncertainties, and the high cost of green hydrogen production, particularly without subsidies. The Australian market has been hard hit, too. In September 2024, Woodside Energy (NYSE:WDS), the country's largest independent oil and gas producer, shelved plans to build two green hydrogen projects in Australia and New Zealand. In March this year, giant oil and commodities trader Trafigura, ditched plans to build a green hydrogen plant at the company's Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia for A$750 million ($491.5 million). Meanwhile, the Queensland state government pulled the plug on plans to fund a A$12.5 billion green hydrogen plant by 2028, with the massive project slated to become one of Australia's largest and most advanced green hydrogen projects. Finally, Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced it will not go ahead with its coal-to-hydrogen project in Latrobe, Australia, citing time and cost pressures. The mounting cancellations suggest a sector still searching for viable economics, not just policy certainty. While OBBBA's accelerated tax credit deadline has undoubtedly raised the stakes for U.S. developers, the global pullback points to deeper market fractures: low offtake demand, high capital costs, and insufficient infrastructure. With major players in the U.S., Europe, and Australia walking away or scaling back, the once-hyped green hydrogen boom is looking more like a trickle. For now. By Alex Kimani for More Top Reads From this article on
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
How to build a culture where doing the right thing comes naturally
Now hear this! getty Lori Pressler, Deloitte's Chief Ethics Officer, recently explained why a business cannot have a strong ethical culture if its CEO is not deeply committed to ensuring ethical conduct at every level of the organization. Ethical leadership begins with the CEO. getty You can't have a winning team without a winning coach. Without a CEO who values integrity, 'it becomes harder to normalize ethical principles and accountability,' Pressler told Unleash 's Allie Nawrat. Recall the scandal at General Motors 11 years ago in which the company failed to recall vehicles with known ignition switch defects. Over a dozen people died as a result. An internal investigation revealed a culture of avoidance: executives passed the buck in endless committees, avoided documentation, and even coined terms for inaction like the "GM Nod" (pretending to agree but doing nothing) and the "GM Salute" (physically pointing to others to deflect responsibility). CEO Mary Barra rightly called these 'bureaucratic processes that avoided accountability" and took responsibility for them. You might ask, 'Isn't taking responsibility just basic decency? Does that really count as ethical leadership?' Consider how other CEOs have responded to disasters of their own making. GFire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in ... More the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010 near New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images When the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the worst oil spill in history, BP's then-CEO Tony Hayward said this about accountability: 'The responsibility for safety on the drilling rig is Transocean [sic]. It is their rig, their equipment, their people, their systems, their safety processes.' BP only accepted blame when a mountain of evidence made denial impossible. Years later, Hayward's response remains the platinum standard for how not to take responsibility as a leader. That's why Deloitte is right to observe that a company cannot hope to build and maintain a strong ethical culture if its CEO is not deeply committed to running the company ethically. The role of ethics training in maintaining a strong ethical culture Your company doesn't treat anti-money-laundering (AML) training as one-and-done. Ethics training ... More deserves the same ongoing commitment. getty It's up to a company's board of directors to install a leader who cares about integrity and walks the talk. But what about the rest of the organization? How can a business increase the likelihood that every employee is as committed to ethical conduct as the person at the helm is? In addition to hiring for character as well as competence, smart businesses also make ethics training a recurring component of corporate life. Training programs of all stripes are not one-and-done. The landscape continues to change and evolve, which is why businesses give regular training on the topics of anti-money laundering, compliance, cybersecurity, and workplace safety. Ethics training deserves the same level of attention. After all, new dilemmas emerge as technologies shift, markets evolve, and teams grow. Treating ethics as an ongoing conversation helps to maintain an organizational culture that values doing the right thing. The components of a successful ethics training program Building an ethical culture starts with the right building blocks. getty Some topics are drier than others, but ethics may be the toughest subject of them all to make engaging, relevant and accessible. The best ethics training programs do three things well. 1. They use scenarios that prompt employees to say, 'That's happened to me!' or 'I heard that happening to someone I know here.' This means that the training is not one-size-fits all. In a bank, for example, compliance professionals and accountants face different 'What should I do?' scenarios, and the ethics training should reflect those differences. 2. They avoid fancy language. A well-regarded ethics textbook uses the term 'the principle of nonmaleficence' to refer to a fundamental ethical principle. But all that term means is 'do no harm." Why not skip a Latin-derived term that few people outside of philosophy circles understand and talk instead about the Do No Harm principle? (Or, as Google would have it, 'Don't be evil.') 3. They have interactive components. The saying, 'Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand,' may be falsely attributed to Confucius, but it remains true. Teaching isn't about spewing information and hoping against hope that the recipient will catch and digest it. Instead, it's about ensuring that participants are actively involved in learning material that will help them make the right decisions at the right time in the right way. The takeaways Four takeaways for you to enjoy! getty 1. You can't have a winning team without a winning coach. Ethical leadership, as Deloitte's Chief Ethics Officer Lori Pressler notes, starts at the top. 2. Still, an ethical CEO is a necessary but not sufficient condition for an ethical business culture. Ethics training is another essential component. 3. Ethics training is not one-and-done, not even once-a-year-and-done 4. The best ethics training programs have tailored scenarios for different job roles. They also avoid fancy language, and they involve participants throughout the sessions.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
BP abandons green hydrogen project in Australia in shift towards oil and gas
July 24 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L), opens new tab will exit its planned green hydrogen production facility in Australia as the British energy major pivots back to oil and gas, a spokesperson said on Thursday. The company has informed its partners in the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) that it intends to exit the project as operator and equity holder, the spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The oil major has slashed planned renewables spending and refocused investments to oil and gas after underperformance in recent months led to criticism from investors. The AREH aims to develop up to 26 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity to produce as much as 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year, making it one of the world's largest renewable energy projects. BP currently has a 63.57% stake in the project, according to the company's website. The other joint venture partners include privately owned InterContinental Energy and CWP Global.
Zawya
13 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Oil prices gain on US trade optimism, drop in crude inventories
LONDON - Oil prices rose on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over U.S. trade negotiations that would ease pressure on the global economy and a sharper-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures had gained 52 cents, or 0.76%, to $69.03 a barrel by 1040 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 60 cents, or 0.9% to $65.85 per barrel. "The U.S. crude inventory draw and the trade efforts are adding some support to prices," said Janiv Shah, an analyst at Rystad. Two European diplomats said on Wednesday that the EU and the United States were moving towards a trade deal that could include a 15% U.S. baseline tariff on EU imports and possible exemptions, potentially paving the way for another major trade agreement following the Japan deal. On the supply side, U.S. Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude inventories fell last week by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels, exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. Oil had also seen some support from a suspension of Azeri crude exports from the Turkish port of Ceyhan and a brief halt to loadings at Russia's main Black Sea ports which has since been resolved. BP said that organic chlorides were detected in some of the oil tanks in the terminal at Ceyhan, adding that oil loading continued from some of the tanks with chloride levels assessed to be within normal specifications, while export activities via the BTC pipeline also continued. But analysts expect oil price gains to remain limited. "Uncertainty over U.S.-China trade talks and peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia is limiting further gains," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities, predicting WTI would likely remain range-bound between $60 and $70 a barrel. Russia and Ukraine held peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, discussing further prisoner swaps, though the two sides remain far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders. "Next to watch would be the demand indicators as we are in the peak season and any upside or downside would impact refining margins," Shah added.
