BP CEO Tony Hayward Details Commitment to U.S. Energy Security in the New Era

Houston, TX- November 8th, 2007 - Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, told an audience of industry professionals and community leaders at the Houston Forum today that “For the medium term, the era of cheap energy is behind us.”

BP is one of the world’s largest energy companies and Hayward said that although he is no subscriber to the theory that oil supplies have peaked, “The hard truth is that the political and technical obstacles to bringing reserves to market become more challenging all the time.”
He outlined what BP is doing in order to bolster U.S. energy security, investing $30 billion in the last five years. “That makes us America’s biggest energy investor. We are proud of that record and the powerful commitment it represents,” he said.
America is the biggest part of BP, said Hayward, accounting for more than 40% of the company’s assets and almost 40% of its capital spending and production. “Nearly 40% of our workforce is based here, with many more American citizens working abroad, deploying their skills, in operations from Africa to Europe,” said Hayward.
BP is continuing to invest in U.S. energy security, said Hayward, spending $6 billion a year in the next five years on new projects, including the giant Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico; the Wamsutter tight natural gas project in the Rockies; and upgrading the Whiting refinery to take complex and heavy crudes.
BP is already one of the biggest biofuels blenders in the country and is investing $8 billion in alternative energy, including wind farms, solar, and a partnership with three major universities to develop the next generation of biofuels.
However, looking to the future, Hayward said he hoped that a comprehensive energy policy for the U.S. would incorporate energy conservation as an important way to both promote energy security and to meet environmental concerns.
He said: “You might think that counter-intuitive coming from an oil and gas man, but it is in the nature of our business to adapt to market conditions. And the fact is that our customers, whether they be ordinary consumers or business, would benefit from increased energy conservation in buildings, transport, at home or in power generation.” He cited BP’s own energy efficiency drive, which not only substantially reduced carbon emissions, but saved the company $2 billion a year.