Energy giant BP announced an agreement to sell the majority of the portfolio of its venture capital business, bp Ventures, to digitalization and decarbonization-focused growth investor Verdane.
The sale includes minority stakes in more than 10 businesses, which Verdane described as “helping to make the energy transition more efficient through innovative use of technology,” including solutions focused on the digitalization of the energy industry and the evolution of transport.
BP launched bp Ventures in 2006, and has described the unit’s goal as identifying and investing in “private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum.” The unit invested in upstream, downstream and alternative energy businesses, as well as “in emerging technologies and business models that may help enable the transition to a low carbon economy (2023 annual report).”
The decision by BP to sell most of the portfolio follows a significant shift in strategy by the company in early 2025, reversing earlier plans to reduce oil and gas production over time while increasing investments in low carbon energy sources. The new strategy includes reallocating capital to increase oil and gas investment and reducing low carbon energy to less than 5% of the company’s capex allocation.
In a statement announcing the divestment, BP said that the transaction “supports bp’s continued focus on simplifying its portfolio and disciplined capital allocation, while providing the portfolio companies with an investor focused on supporting their next phase of development.”
Melanie Campbell, Principal at Verdane, said:
“We’re looking forward to working closely with the management teams of these companies as they continue to digitalise and decarbonise the global economy.”
