Energy firm BP has sold a stake worth $1 billion (£733m) in the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) to Apollo as part of the first tranche of a $20bn asset sale target. The US asset manager will take a 25% non-operated stake in BP Pipelines (TANAP) (BP TANAP) which itself holds BP’s 12% interest in TANAP, owner and operator of the pipeline that carries natural gas from Azerbaijan across Turkey. The sale comes after BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss unveiled plans to review assets for a potential sale including its core lubricants business, Castrol and its solar business, BP Lightsource. The $20bn target was announced alongside a “fundamental reset” for the firm as it turns focus to its traditional oil and gas production business. The deal marks the second such sale agreed with US fund manager, Apollo. Last year Apollo snapped up another $1bn BP-owned stake in Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). TANAP, running for approximately 1,120 miles (1,800km) across Turkey, is the central section of the Southern Gas Corridor project (SGC) pipeline system. The SGC transports gas from the BP-operated Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea to markets in Europe, including Italy and Greece. It connects to TAP at the Greek-Turkish border, which crosses Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network. BP said the deal allows it to “monetise” its interest in TANAP while retaining control of the asset. BP executive vice president for gas and low carbon energy William Lin said: “This unlocks capital from our global portfolio while retaining our role in this strategic asset for bringing Azerbaijan gas to Europe. BP and Apollo will continue to explore further strategic cooperation and mutually beneficial opportunities.” Apollo partner Skardon Baker

A release posted on the UK government website on Friday announced that the “first major project” for Great British Energy (GB Energy) “is to put rooftop solar panels on around 200 schools and 200 NHS sites, saving hundreds of millions on their energy bills”. Hundreds of schools, NHS trusts and communities across the UK will benefit from new rooftop solar power and renewable schemes to save money on their energy bills, thanks to a total GBP 200 million ($258.6 million) investment from the UK government and Great British Energy, the release stated. “In England around GBP 80 million ($103.4 million) in funding will support around 200 schools, alongside GBP 100 million ($129.3 million) for nearly 200 NHS sites, covering a third of NHS trusts, to install rooftop solar panels that could power classrooms and operations, with potential to sell leftover energy back to the grid,” the release noted. The first panels are expected to be in schools and hospitals by the end of summer 2025, according to the release. The release stated that local authorities and community energy groups will also be supported by nearly GBP 12 million ($15.5 million) to help build local clean energy projects. A further GBP 9.3 million ($12.0 million) will power schemes in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland including community energy or rooftop solar for public buildings, the release added. “Great British Energy’s first major project will be to help our vital public institutions save hundreds of millions on bills to reinvest on the frontline,” Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said in the release. “Great British Energy will provide power for pupils and patients,” he added. “Parents at the school gate and patients in hospitals will experience the difference Great British Energy can make. This is our clean energy superpower mission in action, with lower bills

A flurry of oil projects from Brazil to Saudi Arabia are set to come online this year, providing the biggest infusion of new crude production in more than a decade.  Fresh oil field output is expected to total about 2.9 million barrels a day in 2025, up from about 800,000 barrels last year, according to data from Raymond James. That’s the most in data stretching back to 2015. Among the largest projects are the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan and Bacalhau in Brazil, as well as the Berri and Marjan expansions in Saudi Arabia. The projections for this year and next are subject to delays, and could change. Global oil forecasters have been projecting a supply overhang for 2025 as countries including Guyana and Brazil bring on new output and OPEC+ plans to start reviving idled output in April. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s trade policies have fanned concerns about reduced global energy demand. The US Energy Information Administration projects supply will exceed demand by 100,000 barrels a day this year, and the International Energy Agency sees a surplus of 600,000 barrels a day. While Raymond James didn’t provide full forecasts for production and consumption, the firm projects that supply will outstrip demand by 280,000 barrels a day toward the end of 2025.  “Investors have not fully grasped just how much new supply from projects is on deck in 2025,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy. MORE FROM THIS

The drive for net zero cannot be “in isolation from the hydrocarbon sector”, the head of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) will say today. Rain Newton-Smith is due to speak at the group’s annual lunch in Edinburgh, alongside First Minister John Swinney, where she will laud the oil and gas industry as “the bridge” to net zero. But the business boss will also lament government action which has hit the fossil fuels industry. The speech comes at a time when the idea of net zero is becoming unpopular with the Conservatives and a surging Reform UK – which has made opposing them a key plank of their offering to the public. “Despite the voices being raised against net zero, the fact is Scotland is sitting on a goldmine of green energy,” Newton-Smith is expected to say. “The numbers don’t lie. The opportunities are there. “Since 2022, Scotland’s net-zero sector has grown 20% and created 16,000 more jobs while average UK growth has near-flatlined. “So, let me be crystal clear. Business is behind net zero. Business is invested in our energy transition. And we’re behind the plans to go further. “But we can’t see net zero in isolation from the hydrocarbon sector. “Especially in Scotland. Oil and gas are still tens of thousands of jobs here. From the latest data it still makes up over 10% of Scotland’s GDP. “It will still be a part of the energy mix and the bridge to net zero, for some time yet. The infrastructure, the investment, the skills and knowledge of these industries will be mission critical for the transition. “But too often, they have been left out of the picture, hit by repeated tax changes and uncertainty. “On one hand, we need clear timelines and funding for net-zero commitments government has already

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. has signed a deal to buy renewable power from Iberdrola SA to electrify the Japanese car maker’s Mexican operations in Celaya, Guanajuato, and El Salto, Jalisco. The electricity will come from Iberdrola Mexico’s wind farms. “Honda de México will use this power for its production in the country, where it has an installed capacity to manufacture up to 200,000 cars a year at its Guanajuato plant and more than 120,000 motorcycles at the one in Jalisco, in both cases for the local and export markets”, the Spanish power utility said in an online statement. “Supplying clean energy to Honda will prevent the annual release of 63,826 tonnes of CO2 [carbon dioxide] into the atmosphere, the equivalent of the carbon captured by more than a million trees over 10 years. “The agreement includes the acquisition of Guarantees of Origin, an instrument that makes it possible to certify the reduction of greenhouse gases by ensuring, with full traceability, that the electricity supply comes from clean sources”. Last week Iberdrola announced a long-term agreement to supply Air Liquide with clean power for the French company’s operations in Spain and Portugal. “It will allow Air Liquide to continue developing innovative and sustainable solutions for the supply of industrial gases and will enable its industrial and medical customers to meet their ambitions to reduce the carbon footprint associated with their final products”, Iberdrola said March 14. Air Liquide supplies gases to the industrial and healthcare sectors. Iberdrola has long-term contracts to supply power in several countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The electricity comes from offshore and onshore wind projects, as well as solar projects, according to the company. Other international firms that have committed to buying power from Iberdrola are ABInBev, Amazon, Apple, Bayer, Burger

IREM SpA’s Res Integra SRL has partnered with Ohmium International Inc. to construct a 4-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer in an industrial area of Siracusa, which Res Integra said is one of the biggest petrochemical sites in Europe. Newark, California-based electrolyzer developer Ohmium will supply a production system with a capacity of 700 metric tons a year. The PEM electrolyzer is planned to be shipped this year, Ohmium said in a press release. The plant, which will use solar power, will support efforts to decarbonize Sicily’s industry and transport, Ohmium said. “We sought advanced electrolyzer technology that was efficient, cost-effective, and quick to deliver”, commented Dario Niciforo, managing director of Res Integra. “We explored multiple options, but Ohmium’s hyper-modular, easily scalable solutions and expedient delivery timeline made the choice clear for us”. Ohmium said, “The modular units feature integrated advanced power electronics enabling rapid dynamic ramping, essential for pairing with intermittent renewable energy”. “Building on Ohmium’s success delivering similar projects in Central and Southern Europe, we knew we could meet Res Integra’s technical requirements, even on an accelerated timeline”, said Ohmium chief executive Arne Ballantine. The project “leads us towards the construction of green energy plants in line with the objectives of the European economic community”, said IREM chief executive Giovanni Musso. IREM is a design, construction, supply and maintenance contractor in the oil, gas, power and chemical sectors. The European Union aims to reach 10 million metric tons of hydrogen production capacity by 2030. Recently the European Commission completed a second auction under the European Hydrogen Bank, a financing platform to scale up the renewable hydrogen value chain in the EU and partner countries. The auction was oversubscribed by over four times with about 6.3 gigawatts (GW) of project proposals asking for over EUR 4.8 billion ($5.2 billion), the Commission said