LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - BP has acquired a majority
stake in the largest U.S. carbon offset developer, Finite
Carbon, the oil major said on Wednesday, as part of its climate
goals and to develop a new revenue stream.
BP and other European-listed oil and gas peers such as Royal
Dutch Shell are betting on an expected rise in carbon
credit prices to counter falling fossil fuel profits as the
energy transition accelerates.
California-based Finite pays landowners to manage forests,
generating carbon offset credits which can be sold to polluters.
The firm expects to generate $1 billion for landowners over the
next 10 years, after a 20-40% cut of the proceeds, its chief
executive Sean Carney told Reuters earlier this month.
Finite currently has 50 carbon projects on three million
acres in the United States and generated more than $500 million
in revenue for landowners.
BP declined to give the value of the acquisition or the size
of its new stake in Finite. It made an initial investment of $5
million in Finite last year. BP said in the statement it would
help expand Finite's reach into other countries.
BP announced earlier this year that it aims to become one of
the world's largest renewable power generators, part of a
high-profile campaign to steer the company away from its
reliance on fossil fuels that emit gases that heat the planet.
The firm plans to increase its renewable power capacity
20-fold by 2030 to 50 gigawatts while reducing its oil output by
40% and diverting more funds to low-carbon investments.
(Reporting by Julia Payne and Shadia Nasralla, Editing by Peter
Graff)