BP acquires 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s offshore wind portfolio in South Korea

BP acquires 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s offshore wind portfolio in South Korea

(IN BRIEF) BP has formed a joint venture with Deep Wind Offshore to develop offshore wind opportunities in South Korea. As part of the agreement, BP has acquired a 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s early-stage offshore wind portfolio, which includes four projects across the Korean peninsula with a potential generating capacity of up to 6GW. South Korea is targeting almost 22% of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2030 and is expected to become a leading offshore wind region. The joint venture will enable BP to enter the South Korean offshore wind market and contribute towards the country’s renewable energy targets.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 15-Feb-2023 — /EuropaWire/ —  bp (LON: BP), a British multinational oil and gas company, has announced a joint venture with Deep Wind Offshore to develop offshore wind opportunities in South Korea. As part of the agreement, bp has acquired a 55% stake in Deep Wind Offshore’s early-stage offshore wind portfolio, which includes four projects across the Korean peninsula with a potential generating capacity of up to 6GW.

The joint venture is expected to enable bp to enter the South Korean offshore wind market and contribute towards the country’s target of achieving almost 22% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. The region is expected to become a leading offshore wind region, providing a significant opportunity for the joint venture.

The projects are currently in the permitting process, and the joint venture is set to secure electricity business licenses and install additional wind measurement systems in the coming period. The four projects have the potential to generate up to 6GW of electricity, providing a significant boost to the country’s renewable energy sector.

Deep Wind Offshore has a strong history in South Korea, and its existing presence in the region will enable bp to establish its offshore wind presence. The joint venture will leverage Deep Wind Offshore’s highly capable team in four offices around the country and its owner Knutsen Group’s sizeable client base in the Korean yards in the shipbuilding segment.

bp’s partnership with Deep Wind Offshore builds on the company’s operating onshore wind portfolio in the US and its 5.2GW net capacity pipeline in offshore wind. In the UK, bp is developing several projects with partner EnBW, with a potential gross generating capacity of around 6GW. In the US, bp and Equinor are developing up to 4.4GW through two projects off the East Coast – Empire Wind and Beacon Wind.

Overall, the joint venture between bp and Deep Wind Offshore represents a significant milestone towards establishing South Korea’s offshore wind sector and contributes to the country’s efforts to achieve its renewable energy targets.

Matthias Bausenwein, bp’s senior vice president of offshore wind, said: “South Korea is an exceptional market to expand our growing offshore wind footprint. We are very happy to be working with a partner as strong as Deep Wind Offshore, which has managed to build a strong local team and develop these projects in collaboration with a variety of Korean stakeholders. We look forward to developing these gigawatts further so we can integrate these electrons in the wider energy system and help the global and South Korean energy transition.”

Knut Vassbotn, Deep Wind Offshore’s CEO, said: “We are extremely excited about partnering with bp to help realize our quality portfolio of projects in South Korea. There is a great fit between our highly competent development team and the bp execution capabilities. We look forward to integrating our teams to realize the projects in a sustainable manner, in close collaboration with local stakeholders to bring both clean electricity to the country and opportunities to local supply chain and communities.”

Media contact:
bp press office, London: bppress@bp.com

SOURCE: BP p.l.c.