British energy firm BP’s board meets in India

The board of BP Plc is in India as part of a five-day visit, reflecting the British energy giant’s growing presence in India and its “commitment to further develop its businesses in and with the country.”

Recognizing India’s key role in global energy demand, the board members will also hold meetings with the government officials and business partners, as well as visiting key BP India locations, a statement said.

“BP is committed to working closely with the government to support its changing energy needs. By leveraging our combined experience and expertise with our partners, we aim to facilitate the secure, affordable, and lower carbon growth of India’s energy resources to meet the increasing demand,” BP chair Helge Lund told Union petroleum and gas minister Hardeep Puri during a meeting.

The BP board first came to India in 2013, two years after the energy firm bought a 30% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) KG-D6 block off the Andhra Pradesh coast for $7.2 billion then.

The BP team’s visit this coincides with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. of India Ltd’s (ONGC’s) bid to hire a global technical service partner to overhaul production from the Mumbai High field.

Vedanta’s Cairn Oil and Gas is also looking for a partner to develop its western offshore deepwater KG-DWN-2017/1 block at an estimated $4 billion.

“There is huge potential for BP to work even more closely with India. We see growing business opportunities, including through our world-class partnership with Reliance, producing the country’s gas and growing our joint retail presence,” chief executive Murray Auchincloss said. “In turn, India’s highly-skilled engineering and scientific talent can help us deliver our targets more effectively, efficiently and rapidly.”

Kartikeya Dube, the energy firm’s head of country, said, “India is an important part of our strategy as we transform into an integrated energy company. Building on the century-old legacy with India through our Castrol brand, our presence across the gas value chain, mobility retail businesses and our global business and technology centre, we expect to grow a material business here, and help support India’s aspiration for energy independence by 2047.”

BP has a century-long business presence in India and has invested more than $12 billion across the energy value chain in the country.

BP’s partnership with Reliance has brought online three deepwater natural gas projects, accounting for one-third of India’s gas production.

Together, they’ve formed Jio-bp—a retail, aviation fuels, and mobility alliance with nearly 1,900 retail sites and over 4,900 charging points nationwide.

BP’s portfolio in India also includes Castrol lubricants, oil and gas trading, and clean energy projects through Lightsource bp.

Additionally, BP leverages India’s skilled talent with a global business and technology centre in Pune that supports its operations worldwide.