據世界石油4月14日消息稱，雪佛龍的風險投資公司和莫雷爾德海洋風能公司同意投資Ocergy公司的海上浮式風力渦輪機的開發和商業化。

　　雪佛龍科技投資公司的這一投資是其在海上風電領域的首次投資。這些投資的規模沒有披露。浮動式渦輪機在那些對固定渦輪機來說太深的海域是有用的。

　　Wood Mackenzie公司高級分析師Anthony Logan說：“據我所知，這是美國石油巨頭在海上風能領域的第一筆投資。”

　　Logan說，隨著美國電網越來越依賴海上風力發電，浮動風力渦輪機將變得越來越重要。Logan說：“如果您能進入更深的海域，你就有可能建立一個海上風力生產系統，而這個系統在低風或無風情況下不會受到影響。”

　　Ocergy在周二的一份新聞稿中表示，這筆投資還將資助一個環境監測浮標的開發，該浮標將收集數據，支持生物多樣性。該公司此前曾投資陸上風力發電。莫雷爾德公司隸屬于專門從事歐洲可再生能源的私募股權投資公司HitecVision。

　　雪佛龍與Ocergy的交易并不標志著可再生能源的戰略轉向，而是一項每年投資3億美元的早期技術計劃的一部分，這些技術可能在未來的能源轉型中發揮作用。該公司不愿意在不熟悉的業務領域大舉投資，從而降低回報率，因為它在這些領域沒有競爭優勢，并將石油和天然氣視為未來一年的核心產品。

　　曹海斌 摘譯自 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.