BP buys into 4.4 GW of Equinor's US offshore wind leases

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) has closed the sale of a 50% stake in up to 4.4 GW of offshore wind leases in US waters to UK oil and gas major BP Plc (LON:BP).

The Norwegian energy group has offloaded half of its shareholding in the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind schemes on the US east coast in a deal worth USD 1.1 billion (EUR 930.2m), excluding customary purchase price adjustments. Equinor said on Friday that the move combines its strengths with those of BP, allowing them to pursue “profitable growth” on the US offshore wind market.

The Empire Wind farm will be installed within an 80,000-acre (32,422-ha) lease area off the New York State’s coast that can potentially accommodate around 2 GW of offshore capacity. The Beacon Wind lease off Massachusetts, on the other hand, covers an area of 128,000 that can become home to turbines with a combined capacity of roughly 2.4 GW.

Following the sale, Equinor will continue to be the operator of the projects within the two leases through the development, construction and operation phases. The completion of the deal, which marks BP’s entry into the offshore wind segment, follows Equinor's recent award to procure electricity to New York from the 1,260-MW Empire Wind 2 and the 1,230-MW Beacon Wind 1 projects.

“We see significant opportunities by rapidly growing BP’s offshore wind business, making a major contribution to our strategic goals and developing assets that will provide long-term, stable returns,” said BP’s executive vice president of gas and low carbon energy Dev Sanyal. He added that the partnership will seek other opportunities across the US.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!