BP boss Murray Auchincloss admitted the firm went “too far, too fast” in its efforts to cut its oil and gas business and shift instead to renewable energy, as he unveiled plans to slash investment in its low carbon efforts by $5 billion (£4bn). Unveiling a long-awaited “reset” of the business, he further admitted “our optimism for a fast transition was misplaced”. Auchincloss ran the finances of the energy giant’s upstream oil and gas business when then-chief executive Bernard Looney unveiled ambitious plans to cut production of hydrocarbons by 40% and ramp up spending on wind farms, solar, hydrogen, and other areas of clean energy in 2020. © Erikka Askeland/DCT MediaBP CEO Murray Auchinlcoss presents ‘reset’ to investors at its capital markets day event. The firm has been under pressure to change tack as both its profits and share price have lagged behind competitors, including Shell. On one side activist fund Elliott Investment Management led the vanguard of shareholder demand for BP to cut costs on expensive low-carbon investment and focus on more profitable oil and gas business instead. But there are also many shareholders, including Scottish Widows, Hargreaves Lansdown and Royal London Asset Management arm, who want to see “progress in aligning capital expenditure with credible low-carbon scenarios”. BP announced $1.5bn hike in hydrocarbon spending Auchincloss said the firm planned to up investment in oil and gas from about $8.5bn a year to $10bn. Hitting back at concerns BP has not been moving fast enough he said: “Since I took over the CEO role at the start of 2024 we have taken deliberate action to significantly refocus the portfolio. A scale and pace of action over the past year is greater than anything I have seen over the past 20 years. This includes in low carbon.” The company also

In a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, Galp said it has successfully drilled, cored, and logged the Mopane-3X well in Petroleum Exploration License 83 (PEL 83), offshore Namibia. The well was spudded on January 2, according to the statement, which highlighted that Mopane-3X is situated 18km away from the Mopane-1X well. Galp noted in the statement that Mopane-3X “targeted two stacked prospects, AVO-10 & AVO-13, and a deeper sand, in the southeast region of the Mopane complex, at c.1,200 m water depth”. “Preliminary data confirm light oil and gas-condensate significant columns across AVO-10, and light oil columns on AVO-13 and on the deeper sand, in high-quality sandstones,” Galp said in the statement. “The reservoirs log measures confirm good porosities, high pressures and high permeabilities. Initial fluid samples show low oil viscosity and minimum CO2 and H2S concentrations. Samples were sent for lab testing,” it added. “Mopane-3X higher than estimated pressures and preliminary results unlock further exploration and appraisal opportunities in the southeast region of Mopane,” it continued. In the statement, Galp said all acquired data will be integrated into the reservoir model and support the planning of potential further activities. Rigzone asked Galp if it had any production estimates for Mopane-3X. The company declined to comment. A BofA Global Research report sent to Rigzone on Wednesday said, “last week Galp confirmed it was working on maturing a first development concept for its Namibian discoveries and its latest exploration result now unlocks a second distinct potential production hub”. “We see the now tangible prospect of a multi-development runway as likely to garner greater industry interest when Galp re-engages in its planned farm-down process,” it added. The BofA Global Research report noted that “Galp’s Mopane discoveries in Namibia matter”, adding that the company’s “80 percent equity stake in a 150,000 barrel

Vincent Duane is principal at Copper Monarch and Caitlin Shields is a partner at the Denver office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer. Bruce Lee once said, “[i]f you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” While the Dragon may not have had the power grid in mind, his words capture the state of electric transmission policy in the United States today. The way we build out the grid has become too difficult because we are asking regulatory frameworks and planning processes to advance controversial agendas that go well beyond our immediate infrastructure needs. Not since rural electrification under the New Deal has this nation had such an historic opportunity to promote American jobs and economic growth through infrastructure development. Unlike the New Deal era, private capital markets, utilities and large electricity users across the country stand ready and willing — today — to invest in the energy infrastructure our country needs to secure America’s global competitiveness. So, what’s the hold up? RMI, echoed in a recent complaint by the Industrial Energy Consumers of America at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, claims existing transmission planning processes are selecting the wrong transmission projects, with inadequate focus on larger, regional transmission lines. Even if examples can be found to support this charge, the explanation offered by these organizations doesn’t add up. America’s transmission-owning utilities know how to build needed electric infrastructure. Indeed, that’s their job; it’s how they get paid. And it’s this truth that makes it impossible to accept charges that building regional transmission is somehow not in a utility’s self-interest. It doesn’t make sense for a utility with a business model predicated on making large capital investments, and a legacy in developing a continent-spanning high voltage network, to just stop making these kinds of investments. Instead

Dive Brief: Sempra Energy executives unveiled a $56 billion five-year capital plan and their intent to open an early rate case in Texas during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. The record capital plan is 16% larger than the company’s prior five-year plan, Sempra chairman and CEO Jeff Martin said. Increased spending, high interest rates, reduced revenues and a series of unfavorable regulatory outcomes in December eroded the company’s fourth-quarter earnings and 2025 projected earnings, triggering a 19% drop in the company’s stock price as analysts questioned the company’s financial plans. Martin acknowledged that the current course would curtail the company’s short-term financial performance, but said the plan was intended to position the company for greater-long term growth, particularly in Texas. Dive Insight: After a rough fourth quarter, Sempra is banking on a “Texas miracle” to restore the company’s financial performance. The company reported 2024 fourth quarter earnings of $665 million, down from $737 million in 2023, and also scaled back its expected 2025 earnings estimates during Tuesday’s call. An unfavorable decision in San Diego Gas & Electric’s latest rate case at the California Public Utilities Commission, issued in December, and a Dec. 31 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order rejecting a return on equity adder for California Independent System Operator utilities have unexpectedly curtailed the company’s earning potential, Martin said. Delays in some of Sempra Infrastructure’s liquefied natural gas projects, higher interest rates and operating costs, and decreased electrical consumption due to a mild winter also cut into the company’s fourth-quarter earnings, according to Karen Sedgwick, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Sempra. Plans to open an early rate case for subsidiary Oncor in Texas to finance the company’s $56 billion five-year capital plan will also put downward pressure on the company’s earnings potential for the coming year, Martin

Dive Brief: Initial and advanced interconnection requests from data centers and other large loads jumped to 4.7 GW from 400 MW a year ago at Public Service Electric & Gas, according to Ralph LaRossa, chair, president and CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group, the utility’s parent company. The projects are on average about 100 MW, which can often fit within PSE&G’s “robust” transmission system, LaRossa said Tuesday during a quarterly earnings conference call. PSEG is also in talks with potential data center customers that are interested in buying electricity directly from the Hope Creek and Salem nuclear power plants in southern New Jersey, according to LaRossa. PSEG Power owns 2,483 MW in the power plants.  Dive Insight: PSEG is “constructively positioned” going into 2025, according to Guggenhoim Securities analysts, led by Shahriar Pourreza. “Among utility peers, we believe [PSEG] offers potential earnings upside from data center commercial agreements, higher PJM regional load growth driving transmission investments, a constructive regulatory environment and no need for equity financing during a time of major equity issuance for the utility sector, driven by incremental growth and balance sheet repair,” the analysts said in a note Tuesday. However, the potential large load growth comes amid uncertainty surrounding the future of the PJM Interconnection’s capacity market. “I don’t know if there is a PJM market anymore,” LaRossa said, noting that some states in the grid operator’s footprint are exploring alternative approaches to ensuring they have adequate power supplies. “My concern there is mostly from a reliability standpoint,” LaRossa said. “Are we going to be able in this construct, to attract generation to the PJM region as a whole, and if so, is it going to be in a timely enough fashion?” New Jersey is at a crossroads, according to LaRossa. “We’re all trying to figure out the best

Orkney-based Green Marine UK will invest a seven-figure sum in a new subsea services department as it looks to secure a slice of the £270-million UK offshore wind opportunity. The new division will offer various new services, including general visual inspection (GVI), 3D Survey incorporating real-time simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) analysis, marine site characterisation and O&M monitoring with a focus on subsea cables, pipelines & offshore structures. Green Marine UK’s expansion plans include buying subsea technology from companies such as Aberdeen-based company Rovtech. This will see the company purchase Rovtech’s VALOR remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which it recently acquired from Seatronics. In addition, Green Marine will buy technology and equipment from Aberdeen’s Tritech, along with Sonardyne and Digital Edge Subsea from the UK, and international companies Norbit, Voyis and EIVA The firm expects that the department will create three or four full-time jobs at its Stromness office, though this could increase as the department and equipment utilisation grow. Managing director Jason Schofield said: “Green Marine has built a strong track record over many years with particular success in the offshore wind sector. The unique skills and experience we’ve developed during this period have put us in prime position to diversify in line with growing industry demand. “While this entails an initial seven-figure capital investment, the longer-term company strategy is to continue investing and expanding way into the future.” Schofield added that his business will “benefit from a strategic location in Orkney” as it has the second-largest offshore wind installed wind capacity on its doorstep. The company boss said that the move marks a “significant growth opportunity for Green Marine UK and a vehicle to drive jobs and business expansion for many years to come”. Green Marine estimated that the ‘service addressable market’ for subsea O&M services across UK offshore