As its three major projects on Teesside help to shape the future of the region, bp has outlined the impact of its work across the UK in a major new report.
Louise Kingham CBE Senior vice president, Europe and head of country, UK said "what the world wants and needs from the energy system is changing – and so is bp."
She said: "A home-grown British company, we are a household name. In fact nine out of 10 people in the UK now live within a 20-minute drive of a bp retail site. In 2023 we expanded our retail network, evolving what we offer at existing forecourts and building new hubs that are dedicated to supporting the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) – such as helping to launch one of the UK’s largest public charging hubs at the NEC campus in Birmingham.
"This year we will celebrate 60 years of our North Sea oil and gas operations, a proud history as one of the pioneers of this industry for the UK that helped build the energy infrastructure and skills that remain critical today. Since 2019, we have reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions associated with our North Sea operations by 33% and in 2023 we met our aim of deploying methane measurement across our major operated offshore oil and gas assets in the UK.
"Oil and gas and retail still represent the backbone of our UK business today. But what the UK, and the world, want and need from the energy system is changing – and so is bp.
"We are investing in lower carbon and renewable energy, expanding our EV charging network through bp pulse and progressing our plans to develop new offshore wind, solar, hydrogen and carbon capture projects. We are working with government and partners to make these plans a reality, while supporting our workforce, suppliers and communities across the UK to help support a transition in a way that is fair, protects jobs, boosts skills and helps grow the country’s economy.
"Projects like these go beyond investment in infrastructure; they also see us supporting skills development and job opportunities, such as on Teesside where 20 young people embarked on the bp-funded Clean Energy Technician Scholarship programme in 2023. From helping to tackle food poverty to supporting initiatives to help boost biodiversity and increase social mobility, we aim to make a difference.
"The UK is our home and as our impact report shows, we are continuing to play our part in building a modern, diversified energy system that is safe and secure, supports the country’s net zero ambitions and creates value for the economy, for customers, for communities and for our shareholders."
In the Economic Impact Report, bp said it supported an estimated 81,000 jobs nationally, directly and through the supply chain, 11,000 of which were in Scotland. In total, that equates to 1 in every 410 UK jobs.
It spent a total of £5.3 billion with UK suppliers, which included around 2,600 suppliers of operational goods and services and 540 suppliers of capital goods and services.
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Its contribution to national GDP was £17.1 billion, equivalent to 0.64% of UK GDP or £1 in every £160 of GDP, and it paid £4.3 billion in tax for the UK government.
In 2022 bp - one of the key partners in The Northern Echo's Level Up campaign for investment and jobs – announced plans that could see it invest up to £18 billion in the UK’s energy system by the end of 2030, expanding the bp pulse EV charging network, and working on plans to develop new offshore wind, solar, hydrogen and carbon capture projects – while continuing to invest in established sectors like oil and gas and retail.
bp spent £5.3 billion with UK suppliers in 2023. This procurement, combined with bp’s spending elsewhere around the world, supported £5.1 billion in gross value-added contributions to UK GDP, and 65,000 jobs, or one in every 510 people in employment.
Of the £5.3 billion bp spent with suppliers in the UK, £4.3 billion was with more than 2,600 suppliers of operational goods and services, which relates to ongoing business operations, and £1billion was with more than 540 suppliers of capital goods and services, which represents investment in bp’s production facilities and other assets.
In 2023 it donated more than £16 million to organisations that support some of the most vulnerable families in society, and employees donated £2.49 million to charitable causes, including matched funding from the bp Foundation. It also supported Feeding Families, a food poverty charity based here in the North East.
More than 5,000 teachers used free STEM resources, potentially reaching over 380,000 students and 370 young people participated in work experience programmes across our UK offices.
bp on Teesside
Net Zero Teesside Power aims to be one of the world’s first commercial-scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture technology.
It could generate up to 860 megawatts of low carbon electricity, enough to power the equivalent of up to 1.3m homes per year, and is a joint venture between bp and Equinor, with bp leading as operator.·
NZT Power’s CCS infrastructure could capture and store up to two million tonnes of CO2, annually.
In February, the UK government granted a joint development consent order for Net Zero Teesside and the Northern Endurance Partnership and in March, the projects announced the selection of nine leading specialist contractors for engineering, procurement, and construction contracts.
The awarding of the contracts, which have a combined value of around £4bn, is subject to the receipt of relevant regulatory clearances and positive Final Investment Decisions (FID) by the projects and UK government, planned by September this year.
H2Teesside aims to be one of the UK’s largest blue hydrogen production facilities, capturing and sending for storage two million tonnes of CO₂ per year, equivalent to capturing the emissions from the heating of one million UK households. Targeting 1.2GW of hydrogen production by 2030, equating to over 10% of the UK government’s hydrogen target of 10GW by 2030.
In February, bp announced a licence agreement for the use of BASF technology to capture carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production at H2Teesside.
In April, the Development Consent Order for H2Teesside was accepted for examination, in a major milestone for the project. The project will now progress to the pre-examination stage and people can register to have their say.
HyGreen Teesside is planned to be one of the biggest ‘green’ hydrogen facilities in the UK, with plans to deliver up to 5% of the UK government’s hydrogen target of 10GW by 2030. It is expected to fuel the development of Teesside into the UK’s first major hydrogen transport hub, leading the way for large-scale decarbonisation of heavy transport, airports, ports and rail in the UK.
In April, the planning application for HyGreen Teesside was validated by Redcar & Cleveland Council, and a public consultation on the application concluded at the end of May.
The stats
Direct economic impact
bp directly contributes to the UK economy through its operations, which include producing hydrocarbons, running retail stations, developing lower carbon energy solutions, research and innovation and managing office functions. In 2023 bp directly generated a £12bn GVA contribution to UK GDP from its own operations, and employed 16,049 people in the UK.
Indirect economic impact
bp’s spending with suppliers stimulates substantial economic activity. By buying goods and services from its suppliers, bp supports those suppliers as they generate their own GVA, jobs, and tax impacts. In 2023 bp spent £5.3bn with >2,600 suppliers of operational goods and services and >540 suppliers of capital goods and services This spending supported an estimated 65,000 jobs across the UK and added £5.1bn in GVA contributions to UK GDP
Total economic impact
Considering the sum of bp’s direct impact and supply chain impact, bp’s total impact on the UK economy is sizeable. In 2023 it supported £17.1bn in GVA contributions to UK GDP – equivalent to 0.64% of national GDP an estimated 81,000 jobs – equivalent to 1 in every 410 jobs in the UK
Business
59m mboe (Million Barrels of Oil Equivalent) of oil and gas produced from our North Sea operated facilities, >1,100 bp retail sites in the UK, including those operated by dealer partners, >3,000 ultra-fast and rapid bp pulse charge points across the UK ~200m EV miles powered by bp pulse in the UK
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