Energy powers virtually every aspect of our lives, from our homes and workplaces to industry worldwide – and demand continues to grow.
At bp this year, we helped to supply a share of the energy that the world wants and needs. With science, tech and engineering at the heart of our business, we’ve started new projects, embraced new technologies and celebrated some big anniversaries – all while putting safety first.
Take a look at our achievements in 2024.
This year marked the start-up of one of our most technologically advanced platforms.
Azeri Central East (ACE), in the Caspian Sea, is designed to produce up to 100,000 barrels of oil per day, and is a model for future platforms, with its control room located onshore.
At many of our facilities, we hit production records. In the North Sea, the ETAP central production facility reached its highest output for 13 years after the continued ramp-up of the Seagull project, with the third well now online.
In Oman, our Block 61 gas field safely achieved its highest-ever monthly production in June, with output of 339,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, well above plan. The block also achieved a plant reliability of 99.6% – beating our 98% target.
The bpx energy Eagle Ford facility in Texas, US
The GTA hub, including a floating LNG vessel
In the Gulf of Mexico, Argos, our newest platform there, exported its 20 millionth barrel of oil, while also producing a record 132,000 barrels of oil during a single day. Argos is a key part of our plan to grow production in the basin where we have some of the highest-value, lowest-emission barrels in our global portfolio.
Staying in the US, our third electrified central processing facility in the Permian Basin in Texas came online, helping the business to grow oil and gas production and reduce its operational emissions.
Subsea infrastructure for the Cypre project in Trinidad & Tobago
New developments
Our next major gas development in Trinidad and Tobago, Cypre, saw its first well spudded. At the same time, our teams there helped to enable the reliable and safe operations of our current fields with new pipeline installations.
We’ve also made good progress on our liquefied natural gas (LNG) mega project about 120km off the coast of west Africa, Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Phase 1 (GTA). Its four major components are in place, including the subsea infrastructure, the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, and the floating LNG (FLNG) vessel, which is located at the hub terminal. GTA Phase 1 is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG per year.
The British Listener was fitted with an air lubrication system while in drydock in Singapore
Just as importantly, we set the stage this year for future growth. We progressed our major project Kaskida in the Gulf of Mexico, unlocking the potential for the development of 10 billion barrels of discovered resources there.
In addition, alongside our partners, we made a final investment decision on our Tangguh UCC project, Indonesia’s first at-scale enhanced gas recovery using carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). The investment is expected to unlock around 3 trillion cubic feet of additional gas resources.
We also announced plans to take a 10% interest in the planned Ruwais liquefied natural gas project in Abu Dhabi.
Plus, we’re leveraging long-standing partnerships to access potential new opportunities in Azerbaijan and Kirkuk, Iraq.
Trading and shipping
bp this year acquired GETEC ENERGIE GmbH, a leading independent supplier of energy to commercial and industrial customers in Germany. The company serves about 400 customers in Germany, supplying around 40TWh of power and gas per year, as well as over 100,000 gas and power meters directly. It is expected that the acquisition will enable bp to deliver integrated energy solutions directly to existing and new customers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
In shipping, two of our liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels – British Listener and British Mentor – were retrofitted with state-of-the-art technology that could help to lower their fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The air lubrication system enables the ship to sail on a ‘carpet of bubbles’, cutting friction between the hull and the water.
The ACE platform topsides ready for lifting into position
Work on the ETAP platform in the North Sea
Milestone anniversaries
Sixty years ago, bp received its first licence to explore in the North Sea. Over the decades, our presence there has helped to meet the energy needs of millions and contributed billions of pounds to the UK economy. Today, our portfolio in the region is focused around five key production hubs in the Central North Sea and west of Shetland.
This year in Azerbaijan, bp celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) production sharing agreement – known as the ‘contract of the century’. Between the start of production and June 2024, the ACG field had produced nearly 600 million tonnes of oil (about 4.4 billion barrels).
In our mobility & convenience business, our German fuel brand, Aral, celebrated its 100th anniversary. Aral is the largest fuel supplier in Germany, and has around 2,400 retail sites across the country, with more than 900 REWE To Go convenience stores.
There were two other milestones to celebrate this year: Castrol celebrated its 125th anniversary (more on that below) and bp marked its 100th year of doing business in South Africa, where we have more than 500 retail sites.
This was a year marked by exciting new developments as we delivered mobility solutions for millions of diverse customers around the world.
Our retail network expanded in the US as we marked the opening of our 300th TravelCenters of America location in Walton, Kentucky. We also launched a new integrated customer loyalty programme, earnify, providing exclusive savings on convenience and fuels.
In Australia, we agreed to acquire fuel and convenience retailer X Convenience, which, when complete, will expand our network with more than 50 sites in South Australia and Western Australia.
Customers on the move in the US, UK and in locations around the world have also been able to try new food ranges in many of our convenience stores – from customizable sandwiches to new, private-brand snacks.
A customer refuels at a TravelCenters of America site in Kentucky, US
EV charging
We have grown both our EV charging network in key markets, as well as the amount of energy we’ve sold. In the first nine months of the year, EV charge points installed grew by around 20% and energy sold increased two-fold compared to last year. We also sold one terawatt hour of energy – that’s one billion kilowatt hours.
In Germany, we opened the first Aral pulse standalone, large-scale charging hub with a high-tech convenience store and driver lounge. The hub in Mönchengladbach has enough bays to charge up to 28 EVs at the same time.
In the US, TravelCenters of America and bp pulse broke ground on one of the nation’s first publicly accessible medium- and heavy-duty truck charging stations in California, collaborating with the California Energy Commission.
bp pulse also signed a deal to roll out new ultra-fast Gigahubs™ at 75 locations in the US owned by Simon®, a real estate company that invests in shopping, dining, entertainment and other mixed-use centres.
The new Aral pulse standalone charging hub in Mönchengladbach, Germany
Workers at the bp bioenergy bioethanol and sugar business in Brazil
Building biofuels
We took full ownership of our Brazilian joint venture, now known as bp bioenergy. The industrial-scale sugar and ethanol business is one of Brazil’s leading biofuels producers. It has capacity to produce around 50,000 barrels a day of ethanol equivalent from sugarcane from 11 agro-industrial units across five states. This is part of our strategy to build our biofuels business, increase production volumes, and deliver value.
In China, we took a 15% stake in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) unit of China’s Lianyungang Jiaao Enproenergy Co, which is building a 500,000-ton-per-year plant in the eastern coastal city of Lianyungang.
Additionally, Air bp surpassed 1 million over-wing refuellings with the safe2go app, which aims to reduce the risk of misfuelling by supporting the operator to complete an enhanced, three-way fuel grade cross check.
Air bp SAF refuelling at Biggin Hill Airport in the UK
One big birthday
As Castrol celebrated its 125th anniversary, we continued to look to the future with a new strategy.
We’re developing and testing new liquid cooling technologies for use in data centres around the world, now from our recently opened centre of excellence in the UK.
We’ve also continued to grow Castrol’s branded network of automotive workshops, serving customers around the world. Plus, Castrol became the official motor oil partner of both the NBA and WNBA this year.
This year, Castrol announced the investment of up to $50 million in Gogoro Inc, a leader in battery-swapping for electric two-wheelers. Gogoro is available in 45 cities around the world.
Meanwhile, bp and Castrol are teaming up with Audi and its future F1 team, with bp set to develop a FIA-specified Advanced Sustainable fuel* for the team, and bp becoming the first official partner of the future Audi factory team in Formula 1. bp and Castrol will also develop lubricants for Audi’s V6 turbo engine and EV fluids for the electric motor and battery.
*To comply with updated regulations set by the sport’s governing body, the FIA.
Rally fans across Europe voted for Castrol to win the best-looking car livery in the European Rally Championship
A Gogoro customer in Taiwan swaps the battery for her electric two-wheeler
This year, we continued to progress many of our lower carbon businesses.
We’re growing our bioenergy business, Archaea Energy, with an industry-leading eight new renewable natural gas (RNG) plants started up by the largest and fastest-growing RNG producer in the US. Archaea captures waste emissions and converts them into lower carbon fuel.
We also focused our renewables business, acquiring the remaining part of Lightsource bp that we didn’t already own. The acquisition expands bp’s presence globally in the onshore renewable energy industry with a 62GW development pipeline and operations spanning 19 markets.
In offshore wind, we’ve agreed to set up a 50:50 joint venture with JERA to create one of the largest global offshore wind developers, owners and operators. Also in 2024, we announced plans to sell our US onshore wind business.
Construction of the new Lightsource bp Honeysuckle solar project in Indiana, US, which is set to help power the nearby new Google data centre
Archaea workers at the Bethlehem Landfill plant in Pennsylvania that can process up to 3,500 standard cubic feet of landfill gas per minute into RNG
Castellón refinery in Spain, where bp is planning to develop a large-scale green hydrogen plant
In hydrogen, we have made disciplined progress this year, as a result of strong partnerships. In Spain, bp and Iberdrola formed a joint venture and took a final investment decision to develop a 25MW green hydrogen project at our Castellón refinery, expected to start up in 2026. The plant aims to convert 200GWh a year of Iberdrola’s renewable energy into green hydrogen.
And in the UK, the joint venture between bp and Aberdeen City Council announced the final investment decision for the first phase of its Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub project, which aims to deliver a scalable green hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility in the city.
Technology underpins all that we do at bp, and this year saw some exciting advances.
To better understand the resources in our fields, our teams completed a number of seismic surveys, including in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caspian and Trinidad and Tobago. Once analysed, the data collected will give bp a clearer picture of the subsurface. This will help to improve reservoir management and evaluate potential new well opportunities.
A scientist at the bp Biosciences Center in San Diego, US, where research into biogas feedstocks is being carried out
Another exciting piece of technology – a remotely operated vessel (ROV) – has helped us to more safely inspect our production facilities in the North Sea. bp and Ocean Infinity successfully completed a world first in subsea inspection using ROVs.
We’re also developing new ways to improve energy production. To unlock the use of new feedstocks and improve biogas production, the technical team at the bp Biosciences Center in San Diego set up a state-of-the-art biogas laboratory.
And 2024 saw a double celebration for the bp teams who co-developed the Fischer Tropsch (FT) CANS technology with Johnson Matthey. FT CANS converts gas derived from biomass into synthetic kerosene, before it’s blended with conventional jet fuel to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at scale. The technology was chosen by DG Fuels for use at its proposed SAF plant in Louisiana, planned to be the world’s largest. FT CANS also won the best catalyst technology category at the Gulf Energy Information Excellence Awards.
Advancing the use of digital technologies remained a priority for bp in 2024. Continuing our longstanding relationship with NASA, the two companies signed a Space Act Agreement to share technology and expertise from decades of experience operating in harsh environments.
And, building on a decade of collaboration with Palantir, bp and the data analytics company announced an agreement to extend our relationship. Since 2014, Palantir software has been deployed widely by bp to support our oil and gas production operations, from offshore oil platforms in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, to the Khazzan gas fields in Oman.
Follow our progress
If you’re enjoying this article, why not sign up for regular updates from Energy in focus?
Giovanni Cristofoli, SVP of bp Solutions, and Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, sign a Space Act Agreement
The 78-metre vessel from which bp and Ocean Infinity deployed remotely operated vessels to inspect some of our North Sea assets
While today we’re mostly in oil and gas, we increased the proportion of our global annual investment that went into our lower carbon and other transition businesses from around 3% in 2019 to around 23% in 2023.
