Oil and gas firms among winners in UK wind auction

Oil and gas companies including BP, Shell and TotalEnergies were among the successful applicants in ScotWind's leasing round for wind farms off the coast of Scotland.

Oil and gas association OGUK said the result announced on January 17 highlighted how "the industry is harnessing its transferable energy expertise and playing a central role in helping the UK move towards its net zero goals." It noted that a number of oil and gas supply chain companies were also providing support as project partners.

"UK offshore energy companies are at the head of the pack, building on and adapting their oil and gas expertise to speed up greener energies like wind," OGUK supply chain and operations director Katy Heidenreich commented.

"This is a powerful example of how our industry is changing and helping deliver the cleaner and affordable energy required to help other industries and millions of consumers get to net zero," Heidenreich continued. "Working together, their technology and skills can help shape the country’s energy future, secure jobs for people across the country, and support our world-class supply chain in exporting its low carbon expertise around the world, cutting carbon emissions at home and overseas.”

BP and Germany's EnBW successfully bid £85.9mn ($117mn) to build over 2.9 GW of fixed wind power turbines, while Shell secure the right to develop 5 GW of floating capacity in partnership with Scottish Power Renewables for £154.4mn. TotalEnergies has teamed up with Green Investment Group and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group to install 2 GW of fixed capacity for £65.7mn.

The leasing round will see a total of 24.8 GW of offshore wind capacity developed, at an overall cost of £699mn.

Oil and gas companies are also taking a leading role in a number of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) initiatives underway in the UK, aimed at decarbonising the country's biggest industrial clusters.