BP scraps its carbon capture venture

BP has scrapped plans to build a carbon capture centre in Scotland after the Government’s energy review yesterday delayed a decision on subsidies.

Ministers said they planned to launch a competition for a funding award in November – described by the oil giant as “an extension too far” for its ambitious plans to succeed. It has already spent


A spokesman for the company defended the decision, insisting that it did not mark a decision to draw back from the green initiatives that were put in place by the former chief executive Lord Browne of Madingley.

There have been suggestions that his successor, Tony Hayward, is less keen than his predessor on attempts to make BP a green energy provider. But the spokesman said: “It was always going to be a challenge to match the development of the Peterhead project and the development of policy. We had originally planned to get a final decision at the end of 2006 and we extended that until the end of 2007 but obviously as the competition is not starting until November, there will not be a decision until after that and we decided that was a step too far.”

The Independent