BP, JERA Co Announce Leadership Team of Planned Offshore Wind JV

In a recent joint release, BP and JERA Co. Inc. announced the leadership team of their planned 50-50 offshore wind joint venture.

JERA Nex BP will be led by CEO Nathalie Oosterlinck, the current CEO of JERA Nex, the statement revealed. Erin Eisenberg - who is currently VP Finance, Low Carbon Energy at BP - will be the company’s CFO, Richard Sandford – currently SVP Offshore Wind at BP – will be the company’s Chief Development Officer, and Zlati Christov – the current Chief Investment Officer at JERA Nex – will be the company’s Chief Investment Officer, the statement outlined.

Eric Antoons – the co-CEO of Parkwin – will be the company’s Chief Operating Officer, and Alfonso Montero Lopez – the current VP of offshore wind engineering at BP – will be JERA Nex BP’s Chief Technical Officer, according to the statement.  

BP and JERA noted in the release that the new entity will be a leading global offshore wind developer, owner, and operator. They added that the formation of JERA Nex BP is intended to accelerate development from the combined pipelines and bolster access to competitive financing. 

Subject to regulatory and other approvals, the new entity will have operating and development assets totaling 13 gigawatts potential net generating capacity across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S., the release stated.   

“JERA Nex BP will enter the market with a world-class leadership team and a strong portfolio of high quality operating assets and projects pipeline,” William Lin, executive vice president for gas and low carbon energy at BP, said in the release.

“As a leading independent platform for renewables development, the JV will benefit from the strong partnership between the two shareholders that extends beyond low carbon energy,” he added.  

Yukio Kani, Global CEO and Chair of JERA, said in the release, “the leadership team of JERA Nex BP brings together the best characteristics of both companies and has the experience and expertise to lead this next phase of development in offshore wind energy”.

“With the backing of two strong shareholders with a long history of cooperation, and with an exciting and globally diversified development portfolio, we are confident JERA Nex BP will play a critical role in the energy transition in Japan, the UK, and beyond,” Kani added.

In a separate joint statement released back in December, BP and JERA announced that they had agreed to combine their offshore wind businesses “to form a new standalone, equally owned joint venture that will become one of the largest global offshore wind developers, owners, and operators”.

That statement noted that the partners “have agreed to provide capital funding for investments committed to before end of 2030 of up to $5.8 billion”. It added that JERA Nex BP will be based in London and stated that its CEO would be nominated by JERA and the CFO by BP.

“On completion, offshore wind teams from both JERA and JERA Nex and staff from BP’s offshore wind business will be expected to move into the new business,” the statement highlighted.

In this statement, Auchincloss said, “we are very pleased to have reached agreement with JERA to form a top five wind developer globally”. 

“This will be a very strong vehicle to grow into an electrifying world, while maintaining a capital-light model for our shareholders. We very much look forward to combining our strengths in Europe and Asia-Pacific to create another innovative platform,” he added.

Lin noted in the statement, “building on our successful cooperation over many years, this will bring together BP and JERA’s complementary businesses to create scale, with a mix of high-quality operating assets and development projects”.

“JERA Nex BP will be a major offshore wind player - developing the most competitive projects, continually high-grading its portfolio, investing with tight discipline, and securing optimal offtake arrangements,” he added.

“We look forward to expanding our partnership with JERA through this exciting opportunity,” he continued.

Kani said in the statement, “offshore wind has significant potential and is a critical component of the energy transition”.

“The sector is at an inflection point, and we believe the transformative partnership launched today between our two companies combines the resources, capabilities, and network necessary to be a world-class offshore wind company, and in doing so, realize the potential of offshore wind globally, while positioning this business for long term success,” Kani added.

“Today’s announcement also demonstrates JERA’s commitment to the offshore business in Europe, Japan and the rest of the world and is a natural evolution of our strategy that places collaboration at the heart of our approach to renewables,” Kani continued.

In a statement posted on its website last month, BP announced a “fundamentally reset strategy”. This strategy will see BP grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus its downstream business, and invest with increasing discipline into the transition, the company noted in that statement.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com