BP has acquired a majority stake in the largest US carbon offset developer, Finite Carbon, the oil major said, as part of its climate goals and to develop a new revenue stream.
BP and other European-listed oil and gas peers such as Royal Dutch Shell are betting on an expected rise in carbon credit prices to counter falling fossil fuel profits as the energy transition accelerates.
California-based Finite pays landowners to manage forests, generating carbon offset credits which can be sold to polluters. The firm expects to generate $1 billion for landowners over the next 10 years, after a 20–40% cut of the proceeds, its chief executive Sean Carney told Reuters.
Finite currently has 50 carbon projects on 3 million acres in the United States and generated more than $500 million in revenue for landowners.