BP to fully acquire Brazilian bioenergy venture for USD 1.4 bn: British global energy giant BP has agreed to buy out Bunge's 50% stake in their Brazilian sugar and ethanol joint venture BP Bunge for USD 1.4 bn, according to a statement released on Thursday. The transaction — expected to close by the end of 2024 — will give BP full control of BP Bunge, which can produce around 50k barrels of ethanol per day from sugarcane. BP will also assume the firm’s USD 1.2 bn debt and lease obligations, resulting in a net payment of USD 800 mn.

BP plans to expand biofuel operations: BP plans to expand and diversify its biofuel operations in Brazil following its acquisition of Bunge's stake in their joint venture, Reuters reported Friday. The company aims to leverage the venture’s biofuel base — comprising 11 plants across five states — to develop new bioenergy projects. BP's strategy includes exploring next-generation ethanol, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), e-fuels, and biogas.

REFRESHER- Mubadala Capital backed out of BP’s bioenergy venture: Mubadala Capital withdrew from bidding for ethanol JV BP Bunge last year, with reports suggesting that the UAE state investor dropped out after concluding negotiations to acquire Atvos.

ON A RELATED NOTE- EU faces challenges meeting SAF quotas: EU producers of SAF cannot ramp up production fast enough to meet increasing quotas, German transport company Fraport’s CEO Stefan Schulte told Reuters, with current production rates lagging behind the EU's requirements.

Tesla’s shareholders’ approved a USD 56 bn pay package for founder and CEO Elon Musk, and to move its headquarters from Delaware to Texas, Reuters reported. The vote is considered a huge victory for Musk, who is attempting to overturn a decision by the Delaware court to void a package of options, the largest in US history, which would boost Musk’s stake in the company to 20%, up from 13% currently. The story also grabbed ink in The Financial Times, Bloomberg, WSJ, and CNBC.

IN OTHER US NEWS- The Biden Administration rolled out finalized rules for new clean energy subsidies to make green jobs and wages competitive with the oil and gas sectors, Reuters reported. Projects that apply for tax credits under the US’ green incentive package the Inflation Reduction Act and are paying prevailing wages to workers while hiring apprentices will be eligible to receive “five times the law's base credit of 6%,” the outlet explains. The Biden administration said it is also encouraging the adoption of project labor agreements that set wage and employment terms between trade unions and contractors to ensure compliance with the new rules.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • White Summit invests in Spain’s green methanol plant: Spain’s infrastructure investment firm White Summit’s green hydrogen subsidiary HyFive is set to invest EUR 250 mn (USD 267 mn) in a e-methanol plant in Spain’s port area Gijon. The plant will have 50 MW of electrolysis capacity contributing to 100k metric tons of green methanol per year by 2027, with plans to later double this capacity. (Reuters)
  • UK’s Octopus Energy enters US market: UK renewables firm Octopus Energy has acquired two solar energy farms in Ohio and Pennsylvania, marking its entry into the US renewables market. The projects — which were purchased from American renewable energy developer Vesper Energy — have a combined capacity of 100 MW. (Reuters)
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