BP halts Australia renewables project in cost reduction move

(Bloomberg) – BP Plc is pushing back plans to make renewable fuels on the site of its former Kwinana oil refinery in Australia, amid a broader cost-cutting drive within the company.

“While bioenergy remains a core part of BP’s strategy, BP has decided to re-phase the Kwinana renewable fuels project,” the company said in an emailed response to questions. The revised plan will allow it to improve capital efficiency and better align the project with government policies. 

BP, which is scheduled to release earnings next week, is eliminating thousands of positions in an effort to reduce costs and improve returns. The company has stopped or paused 30 projects since June, according to a memo to employees seen by Bloomberg.

BP has previously said it was looking at producing green hydrogen at Kwinana in Perth in Western Australia, in addition to the plan to make renewable fuels. Renewable fuels can include aviation fuel and diesel made from vegetable oils or waste oils.

The Kwinana fuels project was one of three that were scheduled to go ahead as of the middle of last year, when it scaled back its biofuels projects in Lingen, Germany and Cherry Point in the US.