News agencies and energy news websites reported on October 7 that Japan’s petroleum refiner Eneos has offered US$1.8 billion (200 billion yen) to acquire Japan Renewable Energy from its owners Goldman Sachs and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. According to Nikkei, this is the first major renewable energy deal that Eneos is pursuing and an indication that the refiner is making a strategic shift away from its traditional fossil fuel businesses.
Established in 2012, Japan Renewable Energy is mainly involved in the construction of renewable energy projects. It currently owns 419MW of generation capacity based on PV, onshore wind, and biomass. At the same time, it is developing another 410MW of renewable generation capacity.
A spokesperson from Eneos told Nikkei that the company is looking at various ways to grow its presence in the renewable energy market, though no concrete plan has been established. Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the proposed deal.
Eneos is among the several major players in the traditional oil and gas sector that are now proactively growing their renewable energy businesses. For instance, Reuters reported on September 20 that BP will be selling a third of its stake in a natural gas production facility in Oman in order to raise cash for investing in new renewable energy projects. Under pressure to achieve globally established climate targets, the Japanese government is setting more aggressive national targets to cut down greenhouse gases. Hence, Eneos and other major domestic companies across different sectors are compelled to follow the wider trend and policies as well.
