BP acquisition of Archaea Energy : Oil and gas giant BP has announced a $3.3 billion all-cash deal to acquire Archaea Energy Inc., an American producer of renewable natural gas (RNG), in a move to expand and expedite the growth of its bioenergy business.

BP will also assume nearly $800 million of net debt of the RNG producer.

The Houston-based Archaea Energy operates 50 RNG and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the US. The biogas company produces nearly 6,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) of RNG.

BP said that at the closing of the deal, Archaea Energy’s production will be expected to deliver an immediate 50% boost to its biogas supply volumes.

Commenting on BP acquisition of Archaea Energy, Dave Lawler — BP America chairman and president said: “Our biogas team is already one of the leading suppliers of renewable natural gas in North America. This deal accelerates our ability to deliver cleaner energy, generate significant earnings in a fast-growing sector and help reduce emissions. This could help bp take a significant stride toward our net zero ambition.”

The American RNG producer has a development pipeline of over 80 projects that could help grow its RNG production by nearly five times by 2030.

Earlier this year, Archaea Energy agreed to create a joint venture with Republic Services, Inc. to set up 40 RNG projects across the US. The Archaea Energy Republic Services joint venture plans to convert landfill gas into pipeline-quality RNG which can be used for displacing conventional natural gas.

Nick Stork — Archaea Energy CEO, commenting on BP acquisition of Archaea Energy, said: “Archaea has become one of the largest and fastest growing RNG platforms in the US and today’s announcement will further enable this business to realize its full potential.

“bp is a world-class partner with an operational history in the RNG value chain that is fully aligned with ours and our partners’, and I look forward to our hard-working team joining the bp organization to help achieve their bioenergy goals.”

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and Archaea Energy’s shareholders’ approval.

  Archaea Energy, BP, Dave Lawler, Houston, Nick Stork, renewable natural gas, Republic Services, Texas