BP plans $37 billion energy investment in US

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Oil giant BP Plc (BP.L) plans to invest about $37 billion in the United States, the world’s biggest energy consumer, to explore, produce and process more oil and natural gas, BP Chief Executive John Browne said on Thursday.

BP will spend $16 billion over the next decade on oil and natural gas exploration and production in U.S. deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Browne said at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The company also plans to spend $17 billion over the same time frame on U.S. onshore oil and gas development in the Rockies and elsewhere.

Heavy oil, a sludgy grade of crude that is more difficult to refine, is becoming more common in U.S. crude markets as Canada produce more of it. BP will spend $3 billion in refinery upgrades to process more heavy oil from the North, Browne said.

Browne said BP would spend up to $1 billion in U.S. terminals of liquefied natural gas, “if approvals are given.”

Reuters