BP signs up to Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonization

UK-based oil and gas major BP has joined the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) as a strategic partner, which was marked by a partnership agreement ceremony in Singapore today.

GCMD was set up in August 2021 to help drive the decarbonization of the maritime industry.

The centre is based in Singapore – one of the world’s busiest ports. Its mission is to help the maritime industry meet or exceed the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) GHG emission reduction goals for 2030 and 2050. It aims to achieve this by creating opportunities for cross-industry collaboration and sharing its projects’ outcomes, aimed at helping fuel the energy transition within the maritime industry.

This partnership adds S$10 million ($7.4 million) in funding, giving GCMD’s efforts a further boost.

“A net zero future for the maritime sector demands industry collaboration, and GCMD is bringing to the forefront the conversations that matter most. As part of GCMD, we look forward to working with key industry players to further progress solutions at the pace and scale needed to help this carbon-intensive sector transition,” Carol Howle, bp’s executive vice president for trading & shipping, said.

“BP’s net zero ambitions and investments in low carbon solutions are aligned with GCMD’s mission and projects. Together with bp and our other partners, we aim to foster collaboration to address challenges and untangle the complexities of decarbonizing shipping. We look forward to working closely with and leveraging bp’s experience and expertise in our pilots and trials,” Lynn Loo, GCMD’s chief executive officer, commented.

BP trading & shipping (T&S) is one of the world’s leading energy trading houses. At any one time, about 300 ships are on the water for bp, enabling it to move around 240 million tonnes of product every year. BP will look to leverage GCMD’s findings in its own maritime activities and share developing best practices with its customers through the company’s gas and low carbon energy business that integrates the existing natural gas capabilities with its low and zero-carbon businesses and markets, including wind, solar and hydrogen.

BP is also supporting zero-carbon supply chains by driving new decarbonization technologies and capabilities to create innovative zero-carbon energy solutions. Safe development of hydrogen, ammonia, biofuel, and carbon markets is a priority for bp, and aligning with the GCMD on these projects provides a strategic fit, the company said.

As part of the partnership, Lambros Klaoudatos, BP’s senior vice president of shipping, will sit on GCMD’s board.

The strategic partnership with GCMD follows BP’s ties with the Global Maritime Forum (GMF), Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) in Europe and the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition in the US.

Together, these organizations are helping drive the decarbonization of the maritime sector and provide global support for BP’s maritime decarbonization journey across its key trading and shipping regions in Asia, Europe and the US.

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