Photo: AFP
Energy watchers are celebrating a huge new discovery of oil and gas by BP, which comes just as the company is drilling back to its roots.
“The renewed focus on their core business, which is oil and gas, is huge. And this discovery is huge and it’s coming at a very important time,” declared energy expert Phill Flynn.
The newfound mother lode is some 19,000 feet below sea level and, while the company isn’t saying exactly how much oil and gas is down there, analysts say it’s BP’s biggest discovery in more than a quarter century. It’s particularly important as the industry hasn’t seen many new reserves opened up in recent years.
"This find may well see BP's upstream portfolio longevity extending well into the 2030s/40s, and it is this that has been the biggest issue and concern," said industry analyst Irene Himona, who follows BP.
Flynn says this boost to the company’s reserves helps cement its transition back into an emphasis on oil and gas after BP stumbled badly trying to reinvent itself as a “green” energy company.
“I think we’re getting back to reality, and away from the fantasy world when it comes to ‘saving the planet.’ BP is going back to the fact that we have to have an energy company that’s based in the needs of the world.”