British Museum signs controversial £50m deal with oil giants BP

The British Museum has signed a 10-year partnership with oil giants BP that will fund a major redevelopment of its Bloomsbury premises in a move that has been criticised by environmental groups.

Announcing the deal today (Tuesday 19 December), the museum said the £50m from BP will help it deliver its masterplan and ensure millions of visitors can "continue to access the collection for generations to come".

The masterplan will see an international architectural competition open in spring 2024 to redevelop around 7,500 square metres of gallery space.

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Meanwhile, designs for a new Energy Centre have been submitted which will see the phasing out of the use of fossil fuels in the museum’s estate, replacing them with low carbon technologies. 

The museum will stay open to the public throughout the works.

Urgent need for refurbishment

Charlie Mayfield, Chair of the British Museum’s Masterplan Committee, said: “The British Museum is one of the largest and most visited cultural institutions in the world but some of its buildings are over 200 years old and in urgent need of refurbishment. 

"That’s why the masterplan is so essential – and it’s exciting to be moving forward with our plans. 

“Next year we will begin the process of completely overhauling our outdated energy infrastructure and replacing it with state-of-the-art facilities that will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, and we will begin a global search amongst leading architects to find a partner to help us reimagine the famous Western Range. 

"There’s so much to look forward to in 2024 and we are grateful to all our partners for their support.” 

However, the partnership with BP has been criticised by environmental groups.

Greenpeace UK’s Policy Director, Doug Parr, described the deal as "one of most brazen greenwashing sponsorship deals the sector has ever seen".

“The climate is teetering on the edge of collapse and, like most of the exhibits on display, BP’s relationship with the British Museum needs consigning to the history books," he said.

“No cultural establishment that has a responsibility to educate and inform should be allowing fossil fuel companies to pay them to clean their image, not least the British Museum who have been here before."

'Completely indefensible'

Chris Garrard, Co-director of Culture Unstained said the decision was "astonishingly out of touch and completely indefensible".

"It comes just days after delegates at COP28 agreed that the world must transition away from fossil fuels. 

"We believe this decision is illegitimate and in breach of the museum’s own climate commitments and sector-wide codes and will be seeking legal advice in order to mount a formal challenge to it."