BP and Chevron invest in geothermal startup Eavor

CEO of Canadian firm expects other majors to invest in the sector, which is benefiting from a technological renaissance

 The venture capital arms of BP and Chevron invested $40mn in mid-February in Eavor Technologies, a geothermal startup headquartered in Calgary, with a highly innovative method for monetising heat from below the earth’s crust. It may well mark the start of a trend for oil and gas majors to get involved in the sector, newly attracted by its low-carbon credentials and recent technological developments. After being burned by investments in geothermal energy in the past—having been attracted during the 1970s and 1980s as a wave of nationalisations in Opec countries restricted more conventional investment options—majors are only now dipping a toe back into the industry. BP’s investment in Eavor i