China - Clean coal technologies, BP plans to boost wind power

BP announced during a ceremony in the Great Hall of People in Beijing that it had signed a series of agreements to enhance its commitment to China for more strategic integration and commercialization of clean coal conversion technologies, wind power generation and world-class acetic acid production.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, as well as officials from both British and Chinese governments, witnessed the signing.

"BP's total investment in China has exceeded US$4 billion since our arrival some three decades ago" said Dr. Gary Dirks, BP president of Asia Pacific and China, at the signing ceremony. "Our commercial and social investments serve a clear purpose, which is to provide quality products and materials to help Chinese consumers improve their quality of life and protect the well-being of the environment. I am pleased that BP is continuing to take steps in delivering this commitment."

BP and the China Academy of Sciences signed an agreement to undertake a feasibility study into a proposed Clean Energy Commercialization Centre joint venture. This represents a major step forward following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Shanghai last August. Under the agreement, CECC is intended to integrate individual clean energy related technologies — coal gasification, coal to liquids, coal to chemical, carbon capture and storage, coal bed methane and underground gasification — from CAS institutes and other organizations both within and outside China, into competitive integrated feedstock manufacturing and product distribution systems and solutions such as polygeneration complexes. The CECC would also serve as an international platform to foster collaboration among research institutes, enterprises and other institutions to improve indigenous Chinese innovation capabilities and market applications in areas such as clean coal conversion, zero emission and carbon capture and storage.

BP also signed a framework agreement with Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment Co., a subsidiary of Goldwind Science and Technology Co., Ltd., with the intention of jointly investing, constructing, and operating three 49.5 megawatt wind power plants near Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia. The two parties have also agreed to explore further wind power investment opportunities in other areas of Inner Mongolia.

BP and Sinopec signed a Memorandum of Understanding to add a new 650k tonnes acetic acid plant at their YARACO joint Venture in Chongqing, upstream Yangtze River, Southwest China. This world-scale acetic acid plant, using BP's leading Cativa technology, would have an annual capacity of 650,000 tonnes. The plant is estimated to be on stream in 2011