BHP Group Could Be Leaving Oil And Gas Behind

BHP Group, a mining powerhouse, announced it is considering selling its petroleum business in order to cut ties with the oil and gas sector. Currently, BHP has oil and gas fields in Australia, the Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Algeria. These produce approximately 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company said that it was in conversations of a deal with Woodside Petroleum, its biggest rival. By selling its fossil fuel division, BHP would be losing out on over €11 billion. Regardless of its underlying profit rising by 42% in 2021, they are considering selling their petroleum business.

“We confirm that we have been in discussions with Woodside,” says BHP in a statement. “While discussions between the parties are currently progressing, no agreement has been reached on any such transaction.”

Last September BHP committed to cutting its overall emissions by 30% over the next decade and achieve net zero by 2050. Since then, shareholders have been pushing the company to reduce their involvement in the hydrocarbon sector in favour of renewable energy.

The group also said last year that it planned to sell its stake in two coal mines. This would bring the company closer to achieving the Paris climate targets.

Currently, fossil fuels supply around 80% of the world’s energy. But they are non-renewable and produce large quantities of carbon dioxide when burned. Carbon emissions then trap heat in the atmosphere and lead to global warming.

Coal is the single largest source of global temperature rise, responsible for over 0.3⁰C of the 1⁰C increase in global average temperatures.

As it has been reported, warming above 1.5°C risks further sea level rises, extreme weather, biodiversity loss and species extinction, as well as food scarcity, worsening health and poverty for millions of people worldwide.

Besides global warming, fossil fuels are also responsible for air pollution, leading to an increase in respiratory illnesses. Water pollution is an additional side effect, as water is contaminated during the process of extraction or in the handling of waste products.

According to the IPCC, fossil fuel emissions must be cut by half within 11 years if global warming is to be limited to 1.5°C.