雪佛龙科技投资公司首次涉足近海风能领域

　　据世界石油4月14日消息称，雪佛龙的风险投资公司和莫雷尔德海洋风能公司同意投资Ocergy公司的海上浮式风力涡轮机的开发和商业化。

　　雪佛龙科技投资公司的这一投资是其在海上风电领域的首次投资。这些投资的规模没有披露。浮动式涡轮机在那些对固定涡轮机来说太深的海域是有用的。

　　Wood Mackenzie公司高级分析师Anthony Logan说：“据我所知，这是美国石油巨头在海上风能领域的第一笔投资。”

　　Logan说，随着美国电网越来越依赖海上风力发电，浮动风力涡轮机将变得越来越重要。Logan说：“如果您能进入更深的海域，你就有可能建立一个海上风力生产系统，而这个系统在低风或无风情况下不会受到影响。”

　　Ocergy在周二的一份新闻稿中表示，这笔投资还将资助一个环境监测浮标的开发，该浮标将收集数据，支持生物多样性。该公司此前曾投资陆上风力发电。莫雷尔德公司隶属于专门从事欧洲可再生能源的私募股权投资公司HitecVision。

　　雪佛龙与Ocergy的交易并不标志着可再生能源的战略转向，而是一项每年投资3亿美元的早期技术计划的一部分，这些技术可能在未来的能源转型中发挥作用。该公司不愿意在不熟悉的业务领域大举投资，从而降低回报率，因为它在这些领域没有竞争优势，并将石油和天然气视为未来一年的核心产品。

　　曹海斌 摘译自 世界石油

　　原文如下：

　　Chevron Technology Ventures takes first foray into offshore wind energy

　　Chevron’s venture capital arm and Moreld Ocean Wind agreed to invest in Ocergy Inc.’s development and commercialization of floating offshore wind turbines.

　　The investment by Chevron Technology Ventures is its first in offshore wind. The size of the investments weren’t disclosed. Floating turbines would be useful in ocean areas that are too deep for fixed turbines.

　　“To my knowledge, this is the first investment by a U.S. oil major in offshore wind,” said Anthony Logan, a senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie Ltd.

　　Floating wind turbines will become important as the U.S. electrical grid increasingly depends on offshore wind power, Logan said. “If you can get into those deeper waters, chances are you can build a system of offshore wind production that isn’t vulnerable to low wind or no-wind events,” said Logan.

　　The investment will also fund the development of an environmental monitoring buoy that will gather data and support biodiversity, Ocergy said in a news release Tuesday. The company has previously invested in onshore wind. Moreld is owned by HitecVision, a private equity investor that specializes in European renewable energy.

　　Chevron’s deal with Ocergy doesn’t mark a strategic pivot to renewable energy, but part of a $300 million-a-year plan to invest in early-stage technologies that may play a future role in the energy transition. The company is unwilling to erode returns by investing aggressively in unfamiliar business where it doesn’t have a competitive advantage and sees oil and gas as its core products for year to come.