BP and Edison Mission Group Plan Major Hydrogen Power Project for California

BP and Edison Mission Group (EMG), a subsidiary of Edison International,
today announced that they are planning a new $1 billion hydrogen-fueled
power plant in California that would generate clean electricity with minimal
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The first-of-its-kind plant would be located alongside BP’s Carson refinery,
about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, and would be capable of producing 500
megawatts (MW) of low-carbon generation, enough power to serve 325,000
Southern California homes.

BP and EMG hope to complete detailed engineering and commercial studies in
2006, finalize project investment decisions in 2008 and bring the new power
plant online by 2011.

The proposed Carson project would combine a number of existing industrial
processes to provide a new option for generating electricity without
significant CO2 emissions. Petroleum coke produced at California refineries
would first be converted to hydrogen and CO2 gases and around 90 percent of
the CO2 captured and separated.

The hydrogen gas stream would be used to fuel a gas turbine to generate
electricity. The captured CO2 would be transported by pipeline to an
oilfield and injected into reservoir rock formations thousands of feet
underground, both stimulating additional oil production and permanently
trapping the CO2.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking at today’s project
announcement in Carson, attended by BP, EMG and state and city officials,
said: "I want to thank you for choosing California. This will be the first
plant of its kind in the whole country and I think it is a perfect fit for
our state. With our Strategic Growth Plan, a commitment to Air Quality, and
innovative projects like this Hydrogen Plant, I know we can have clear
skies, improve our quality of life and build a stronger, more vibrant
economy for California."

Ross Pillari, president of BP America, said: "Wide-scale deployment of
technology such as hydrogen power can make a significant contribution
towards the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed worldwide.
California is a natural location for this project. Both the state and
federal government have challenged businesses to take a leadership role in
tackling carbon dioxide emissions. With this project, we expect to make a
meaningful contribution to those goals."

"The Carson project has the potential to provide new, environmentally sound
electricity generation at a time when California’s growing economy needs
additional power supplies," said John Bryson, chairman of EMG parent company
Edison International.

Final project investment decisions will follow further study by the partners
and review by the California Energy Commission and the South Coast Air
Quality Management District. BP and EMG are beginning project discussions
with state and federal government agencies and local stakeholders and are
exploring options for selling the electricity the plant would generate. BP
is in discussions with Occidental Petroleum to develop options for
sequestering the CO2 in Occidental’s California oilfields.

The costs of hydrogen power are higher than those of traditional power plant
fuels. As a result, the project will depend, in part, on incentives provided
in the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 for advanced gasification
technologies. In addition, continued progress on the California Public
Utilities Commission’s electricity "resource adequacy" procurement policies
will encourage this first-of-its-kind facility.

For more information on the project, please visit: http://www.bp.com/hydrogenpower

(Many thanks to Al Jones for passing this along. Russ)