22nd Aug 2014 14:28
LONDON (Alliance News) - British oil giant BP PLC plans to spend AUD10 billion, or USD9.3 billion, this decade expanding its filling station network and developing oil and gas projects in Australia, according to a Bloomberg report.
The report indicated that the company will open a dozen new filling stations during the next 12 months while seeking to increase the fleet through acquisitions. The company will spend about AUD2.3 billion over the next five years on its downstream unit that also includes the Kwinana refinery in Perth.
BP is reportedly seeking to expand its retail business even as it scales back refining in Australia, while companies including Trafigura Beheer BV and Vitol Group gain a foothold in the industry. The company will also spend more than AUD1 billion on a deep-water drilling campaign off the southern coast.
The company owns about 330 of the 1,300 BP-branded filling stations in Australia. It will halt operations at its Bulwer Island refinery in Queensland by mid-2015 and may convert the facility into a fuel-import terminal amid competition from Asia.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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