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For other uses, see BP (disambiguation).
BP plc
Company typePublic limited
(LSE: BP)
(NYSE: BP)
ISINDE0008618737 Edit this on Wikidata
IndustryOil and natural gas, alternative fuels
Founded1909 (as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company)
1954 (as the British Petroleum Company)
1998 (merger of British Petroleum and Amoco)
HeadquartersCity of Westminster, London, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Carl-Henric Svanberg (Chairman)
Tony Hayward (CEO)
Byron Grote (CFO)
ProductsBP petroleum and derived products
BP service stations
Air BP Aviation Fuels
Castrol motor oil
ARCO gas stations
am/pm convenience stores
Aral service stations solar pannels
RevenueUS $246.1 billion (2009)[1]
US $26.43 billion (2009)[1]
US $16.58 billion (2009)[1]
Total assetsUS $236.0 billion (2009)
Total equityUS $101.6 billion (2009)
Number of employees
92,000 (March 2009)
WebsiteBP.com
A 1922 BP advertisement.

BP plc[2] (formerly British Petroleum Co. Ltd[3][4][5]) is a British-based global energy company which is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company ("oil major"), BP is the United Kingdom's largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James's, City of Westminster, London.[6][7][8] BP America's headquarters is in the One Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas.[9] The company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world and is one of the six "supermajors" (vertically integrated private sector oil exploration, natural gas, and petroleum product marketing companies).[10] The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange and is also a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Since the 20 April 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and subsequent oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, in which 11 people died, BP's public standing and stock value have dropped substantially, losing nearly half of its market capitalization.[11] The disaster, involving a leaking deep water oil well, has devastated a vast area of the United States marine environment, has killed marine life, and has had a serious impact on the local fishing industry. Efforts at containing the spill were at first ineffective, but some progress has been made since the fitting of a cap to stem the leak.[12]

History

Further information: Anglo-Iranian Oil Company

Activity in 1909–1979

In May 1901, William Knox D'Arcy was granted a concession by the Shah of Iran to search for oil, which he discovered in May 1908.[13] This was the first commercially significant find in the Middle East. On 14 April 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was incorporated as a subsidiary of Burmah Oil Company to exploit this.[13] In 1935, it became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC).[13]

After World War II, AIOC and the Iranian government initially resisted nationalist pressure to revise AIOC's concession terms still further in Iran's favour. But in March 1951, the pro-western Prime Minister Ali Razmara was assassinated.[14] The Majlis of Iran (parliament) elected a nationalist, Mohammed Mossadeq, as prime minister. In April, the Majlis nationalised the oil industry by unanimous vote.[15] The National Iranian Oil Company was formed as a result, displacing the AIOC.[16] The AIOC withdrew its management from Iran, and organised an effective boycott of Iranian oil. The British government - which owned the AIOC - contested the nationalisation at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, but its complaint was dismissed.[17]

By spring of 1953, incoming U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to organise a coup against the Mossadeq government with support from the British government.[18] On 19 August 1953, Mossadeq was forced from office by the CIA conspiracy, involving the Shah and the Iranian military, and known by its codename, Operation Ajax.[18]

File:BP old logo.svg
Classic shield logo, designed by Raymond Loewy, used from 1979 to 2000 and still in use in a small number of petrol stations.

Mossadeq, prince (Shahzadeh) of Qajar Dynasty, was replaced by pro-Western general Fazlollah Zahedi,[19] and the Shah, who returned to Iran after having left the country briefly to await the outcome of the coup. The Shah abolished the democratic Constitution and assumed autocratic powers.

After the coup, Mossadeq's National Iranian Oil Company became an international consortium, and AIOC resumed operations in Iran as a member of it.[16] The consortium agreed to share profits on a 50–50 basis with Iran, "but not to open its books to Iranian auditors or to allow Iranians onto its board of directors."[20] AIOC, as a part of the Anglo-American coup d'état deal, was not allowed to monopolise Iranian oil as before. It was limited to a 40% share in a new international consortium. For the rest, 40% went to the five major American companies and 20% went to Royal Dutch Shell and Compagnie Française des Pétroles, now Total S.A..[21]

The AIOC became the British Petroleum Company in 1954. In 1959 the company expanded beyond the Middle East to Alaska[22] and in 1965 it was the first company to strike oil in the North Sea.[23] In 1978 BP acquired a controlling interest in Standard Oil of Ohio or Sohio, a breakoff of the former Standard Oil that had been broken up after anti-trust litigation.[24]

BP continued to operate in Iran until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. After 1979, during the Iran-Iraq war, the oil refineries were destroyed and Iran became a raw supplier of oil. The new regime of Ayatollah Khomeini broke all prior oil contracts and signed new contracts with British Petroleum with 90% to BP and 10% to Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers.[citation needed]

1980s and 1990s

Sir Peter Walters was BP's chairman from 1981 to 1990.[25] This was the era of the Thatcher government's privatisation strategy. The British government sold its entire holding in BP in several tranches between 1979 and 1987.[26] The sale process was marked by an attempt by the Kuwait Investment Authority, the investment arm of the Kuwait government, to acquire control of BP.[27] This was ultimately blocked by the strong opposition of the British government. In 1987, British Petroleum negotiated the acquisition of Britoil[28] and the remaining publicly traded shares of Standard Oil of Ohio.[24]

A British BP Shop Petrol Station.

Walters was replaced by Robert Horton in 1989. Horton carried out a major corporate down-sizing exercise removing various tiers of management within the BP Head Office.[29]

Standard Oil of California and Gulf Oil merged in 1984, the largest merger in history at that time. Under the antitrust regulation, SoCal divested many of Gulf's operating subsidiaries, and sold some Gulf stations and a refinery in the eastern United States.[30] BP bought many of the stations in the Southeastern United States.[citation needed]  

John Browne, who had been on the board as managing director since 1991, was appointed group chief executive in 1995.[31] Browne was responsible for three major acquisitions; Amoco, ARCO and Burmah-Castrol (see below). In 2001, Browne would be ennobled as Lord Browne of Madingley.

Recent years

British Petroleum merged with Amoco (formerly Standard Oil of Indiana) in December 1998,[32] becoming BP Amoco plc.[33] In 2000, BP Amoco acquired Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co.)[34] and Burmah Castrol plc.[35] In 2001 the company formally renamed itself as BP plc[33] and adopted the tagline "Beyond Petroleum," which remains in use today. It states that BP was never meant to be an abbreviation of its tagline. Most Amoco stations in the United States were converted to BP's brand and corporate identity. In many states, however, BP continued to sell Amoco branded gasoline even in service stations with the BP identity as Amoco was rated the best petroleum brand by consumers for 16 consecutive years and also enjoyed one of the three highest brand loyalty reputations for gasoline in the US, comparable only to Chevron and Shell. In May 2008, when the Amoco name was mostly phased out in favour of "BP Gasoline with Invigorate", promoting BP's new additive, the highest grade of BP gasoline available in the United States was still called Amoco Ultimate.

Chief scientist, Steven Koonin (top right, with laptop), speaks about the energy scene in the boardroom in 2005.

In April 2004, BP decided to move most of its petrochemical businesses into a separate entity called Innovene within the BP Group. BP sought to sell the new company possibly via an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, and filed IPO plans for Innovene with the New York Stock Exchange on 12 September 2005. On 7 October 2005, however, BP announced that it had agreed to sell Innovene to INEOS, a privately held UK chemical company for $9 billion, thereby scrapping its plans for the IPO.[36] In 2005, BP announced that it would be leaving the Colorado market.[37] Many locations were re-branded as Conoco.[38]

Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston has BP Americas's headquarters

BP has recently looked to grow its oil exploration activities in frontier areas such as the former Soviet Union for its future reserves.[39] In Russia, BP owns 50% of TNK-BP with the other half owned by three Russian billionaires. TNK-BP accounts for a fifth of BP's global reserves, a quarter of BP's production, and nearly a tenth of its global profits.[40]

In 2007, according to some private BP-branded gasoline center operators in the Metro Atlanta area, BP planned to leave the Southern market in the next few years. All corporate-owned BP stations, typically known as "BP Connect", were to be sold to local jobbers.[41]

On 12 January 2007, it was announced that Lord Browne would retire as chief executive at the end of July 2007.[42] The new Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, had been head of exploration and production. It had been expected that Lord Browne would retire in February 2008 when he reached the age of 60, the standard retirement age at BP. Browne resigned abruptly from BP on 1 May 2007, following the lifting of a legal injunction preventing Associated Newspapers from publishing details about his private life. Hayward succeeded Browne with immediate effect.[43]

Stock decline

After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill BP's stock fell by 52% in 50 days on the New York Stock Exchange, going from $60.57 on April 20 to $29.20 on June 9, its lowest level since August 1996.

Around 40% of BP shares are held by UK shareholders, and 39% in the USA. The UK dividends represent approximately one-seventh of all dividend payments in the UK and form the basis of many pension schemes.

Some market commentators suggested BP may have to cut its dividend[44], be broken up [45]file for bankruptcy or be taken over by another oil company[46] as a result of the spill and associated liabilities.[47][48] Financial analysts suggests 4 possible scenarios. One is that the oil leak stops, political pressure abates, and the clean up costs are manageable. A second is that a competitor attempts to takeover BP, either in cooperation with the company or as a hostile bid. The share price would vary according to political pressure and factors related to the suitor and/or BP. A third scenario is that the leak is stopped but with delays. There is uncertainty of the clean up payments. BP stock prices rebound but not completely. A fourth scenario is that the leak is not resolved, political pressure continues leading to bankruptcy.[49]

Governance

BP head office in St. James's, City of Westminster

The Board Members are:[50]

Financial data

Chart of the major energy companies dubbed "Big Oil" sorted by latest published revenue
Financial data in millions of US$
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Sales 180,186 236,045 294,849 249,465 265,906
EBITDA 22,941 28,200 37,825 41,453 44,835
Net Results 6,845 10,267 15,961 22,341 22,000
Net Debt 20,273 20,193 21,607 16,202 16,202
Source :OpesC

Incidents

1965: Sea Gem offshore oil rig disaster

Main article: Sea Gem

In December 1965, while the BP oil rig Sea Gem was being moved, two of its legs collapsed and the rig capsised. Thirteen crew were killed. Sea Gem was the first British offshore oil rig.[51]

1993–1995: Hazardous substance dumping

In September 1999, one of BP’s US subsidiaries, BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA), agreed to resolve charges related to the illegal dumping of hazardous wastes on the Alaska North Slope, for $22 million. The settlement included the maximum $500,000 criminal fine, $6.5 million in civil penalties, and BP’s establishment of a $15 million environmental management system at all of BP facilities in the US and Gulf of Mexico that are engaged in oil exploration, drilling or production. The charges stemmed from the 1993 to 1995 dumping of hazardous wastes on Endicott Island, Alaska by BP’s contractor Doyon Drilling. The firm illegally discharged waste oil, paint thinner and other toxic and hazardous substances by injecting them down the outer rim, or annuli, of the oil wells. BPXA failed to report the illegal injections when it learned of the conduct, in violation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.[52]

2005: Texas City Refinery explosion

Main article: Texas City Refinery explosion

In March 2005, BP's Texas City, Texas refinery, one of its largest refineries, exploded causing 15 deaths, injuring 180 people and forcing thousands of nearby residents to remain sheltered in their homes.[53] A large column filled with hydrocarbon overflowed to form a vapour cloud, which ignited. The explosion caused all the casualties and substantial damage to the rest of the plant. The incident came as the culmination of a series of less serious accidents at the refinery, and the engineering problems were not addressed by the management. Maintenance and safety at the plant had been cut as a cost-saving measure, the responsibility ultimately resting with executives in London.[54]

The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BP's corporate image because of the mismanagement at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board[55] which "offered a scathing assessment of the company." OSHA found "organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation" and said management failures could be traced from Texas to London.[53]

The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, was fined $50 million, and sentenced to three years probation.

On October 30, 2009, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined BP an additional $87 million — the largest fine in OSHA history — for failing to correct safety hazards revealed in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been previously cited but not fixed and 439 new violations. BP is appealing that fine.[53][56] (see Environmental and Safety Record).

2006–2007: Prudhoe Bay

Main article: Prudhoe Bay oil spill

In August 2006, BP shut down oil operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in pipelines leading up to the Alaska Pipeline. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of crude oil and diesel fuel, between the wells and ice.[57] BP had spilled over one million litres of oil in Alaska's North Slope.[58] This corrosion is caused by sediment collecting in the bottom of the pipe, protecting corrosive bacteria from chemicals sent through the pipeline to fight this bacteria. There are estimates that about 5,000 barrels (790 m3) of oil were released from the pipeline. To date 1,513 barrels (240.5 m3) of liquids, about 5,200 cubic yards (4,000 m3) of soiled snow and 328 cubic yards (251 m3) of soiled gravel have been recovered. After approval from the DOT, only the eastern portion of the field was shut down, resulting in a reduction of 200,000 barrels per day (32,000 m3/d) until work began to bring the eastern field to full production on 2 October 2006.[59]

In May 2007, the company announced another partial field shutdown owing to leaks of water at a separation plant. Their action was interpreted as another example of fallout from a decision to cut maintenance of the pipeline and associated facilities.[60]

On 16 October 2007 Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials reported a toxic spill of methanol (methyl alcohol) at the Prudhoe Bay oil field managed by BP PLC. Nearly 2,000 gallons of mostly methanol, mixed with some crude oil and water, spilled onto a frozen tundra pond as well as a gravel pad from a pipeline. Methanol, which is poisonous to plants and animals, is used to clear ice from the insides of the Arctic-based pipelines.[61]

2006-2008: Texas City refinery fatalities

From January 2006 to January 2008, three workers were killed at the company's Texas City, Texas refinery in three separate accidents. In July 2006 a worker was crushed between a pipe stack and mechanical lift, in June 2007, a worker was electrocuted, and in January 2008, a worker was killed by a 500-pound piece of metal that came loose under high pressure and hit him.[62]

2007: Propane price manipulation

Four BP energy traders in Houston were charged with manipulating prices of propane in October 2007. As part of the settlement of the case, BP paid the US government a $303 million fine, the largest commodity market settlement ever in the US. The settlement included a $125 million civil fine to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, $100 million to the Justice Department, $53.3 million to a restitution fund for purchasers of the propane BP sold, and $25 million to a US Postal Service consumer fraud education fund.[63][64]

2008: Oil price manipulation

In May 2010, the Supreme Court of Arbitration of the Russian Federation agreed in support of the country’s antimonopoly service’s decision to a 1.1 billion Ruble fine ($35.2 million) against TNK/BP, a 50/50 joint venture, for abusing antitrust legislation and setting artificially high oil products prices in 2008, TNK and BP declined comment.[65]

2009: North Sea helicopter accident

Main article: April 2009 North Sea helicopter crash

On April 1, 2009, a Bond Offshore Helicopters Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma ferrying workers from BP's platform in the Miller oilfield in the North Sea off Scotland crashed in good weather killing all 16 on board.[66][67]

2010: Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Main article: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Anchor handling tugs combat the fire on the Deepwater Horizon while the United States Coast Guard searches for missing crew.
Public protest in New Orleans following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

On April 20, 2010, a semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout and sank two days later, killing eleven people and causing a massive oil spill threatening the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. The rig is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd[68] on behalf of BP, which is the majority owner of the oil field. At the time of the explosion, there were 126 crew on board; seven were employees of BP, 79 of Transocean, there were also employees of various other companies involved in the operation of the rig, including Anadarko, Halliburton and M-I Swaco.[69] The company originally estimated the size of the leak at about 1,000 barrels a day but later accepted government estimates of a leak of at least 5,000 barrels per day (790 m3/d). On April 30, BP stated that it would harness all of its resources to battle the oil spill, spending $7 million a day with its partners to try to contain the disaster.[70] In comparison BP's 1st quarter profits for 2010 were roughly $61M daily.[71] BP was running the well without a remote control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills. The use of such devices is not mandated by U.S. regulators.[72] The U.S. Government gave the responsibility of the incident to BP and will hold it accountable for costs incurred in containing the situation.[73] On May 11, 2010, Congress called the executives of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton to a hearing regarding the oil spill. When probed for answers regarding the events leading up to the explosion, each company blamed the other. BP blamed Transocean who owned the rig, who then blamed the operators of the rig, BP. They also blamed Halliburton, who built the well casing.[74] Scientists have been requesting the right to monitor the amount of oil that is actually being released per day, but "'The answer is no to that,' a BP spokesman, Tom Mueller, said on Saturday, May 15. 'We're not going to take any extra efforts now to calculate flow there at this point. It's not relevant to the response effort, and it might even detract from the response effort.'"[75] Steven Wereley, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, analyzed videotape of the leak using particle image velocimetry and estimated oil flow rates at between 56,000 to 84,000 barrels per day (8,900 to 13,400 m3/d), or equivalent to one Exxon Valdez spill every 3.5 to 2.4 days.[76] A second, smaller leak has been estimated to be releasing 25,000 barrels per day (4,000 m3/d) by itself,[77] suggesting that the total size of the leak may well be in excess of 100,000 barrels per day and became the largest offshore oil spill in US history.

Environmental and safety record

BP was named by Mother Jones Magazine as one of the "ten worst corporations" in both 2001 and 2005 based on its environmental and human rights records.[78][79] In 1991 BP was cited as the most polluting company in the US based on EPA toxic release data. BP has been charged with burning polluted gases at its Ohio refinery (for which it was fined $1.7 million), and in July 2000 BP paid a $10 million fine to the EPA for its management of its US refineries.[80] According to PIRG research, between January 1997 and March 1998, BP was responsible for 104 oil spills.[81] BP patented the Dracone Barge to aid in oil spill clean-ups across the world.[82]

File:Gulf oil bp.jpg
A Gulf gasoline station in Louisville, KY using the previous BP prototype. BP purchased all Gulf stations in the southeastern United States in the 1980's after Chevron, Inc. was forced to divest the stations by the United States Justice Department.

As of 11 February 2007 BP announced that they would spend $8 billion over ten years to research alternative methods of fuel, including natural gas, hydrogen, solar, and wind. A $500 million grant to the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to create an Energy Biosciences Institute[83] has recently come under attack, over concerns about the global impacts of the research and privatisation of public universities.[84]

Solar panel made by BP Solar

BP's investment in green technologies peaked at 4% of its exploratory budget, but they have since closed their alternative energy headquarters in London. As such they invest more than other oil companies, but it has been called greenwashing due to the small proportion of the overall budget.[85]

In 2004, BP began marketing low-sulphur diesel fuel for industrial use.

BP Solar is a leading producer of solar panels since its purchase of Lucas Energy Systems in 1980 and Solarex (as part of its acquisition of Amoco) in 2000. BP Solar had a 20% world market share in photovoltaic panels in 2004 when it had a capacity to produce 90 MW/year of panels. It has over 30 years experience operating in over 160 countries with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Spain, India and Australia and has more than 2000 employees worldwide. Through a series of acquisitions in the solar power industry BP Solar became the third largest producer of solar panels in the world. It was recently announced that BP has obtained a contract for a pilot project to provide on-site solar power to Wal-mart stores. In the 2006 annual report Lord Browne noted that BP now has a total wind generation capacity of nearly 15,000 megawatts. 15,000 megawatts would be sufficient to provide power to approximately 15,000,000 typical American households simultaneously. This makes BP one of the largest generators of wind power in the world.[citation needed]

Climate change

BP Amoco was a member of the Global Climate Coalition an industry organization established to promote global warming scepticism but withdrew in 1997, saying "the time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is conclusively proven, but when the possibility cannot be discounted and is taken seriously by the society of which we are part. We in BP have reached that point.".[86]

In March 2002 Lord Browne of Madingley declared in a speech that global warming was real and that urgent action was needed, saying that "Companies composed of highly skilled and trained people can't live in denial of mounting evidence gathered by hundreds of the most reputable scientists in the world."[87]

BP is a sponsor of the Scripps Institution CO2 program to measure carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.[88]

Refinery safety violations

Under scrutiny after the Texas City Refinery explosion, two BP-owned refineries in Texas City, Texas, and Toledo, Ohio, were responsible for 97 percent (829 of 851) of willful safety violations by oil refiners between June 2007 and February 2010, as determined by inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of labor at OSHA, said "The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company."[89]

Contributions to political campaigns

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, BP is the United States' hundredth largest donor to political campaigns, having contributed more than US$5 million since 1990, 72% and 28% of which went to Republican and Democratic recipients, respectively. BP has lobbied to gain exemptions from U.S. corporate law reforms.[90] Additionally, BP paid the Podesta Group, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, $160,000 in the first half of 2007 to manage its congressional and government relations.[91]

In February 2002 BP's chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, renounced the practice of corporate campaign contributions, noting: "That's why we've decided, as a global policy, that from now on we will make no political contributions from corporate funds anywhere in the world."[92]

Despite this, in 2009 BP used nearly US$16 million to lobby US Congress, breaking the company's previous record (from 2008) of US$10.4 million.[93]

Controversy

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

BP has been criticised for its involvement with Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, due to human rights, environmental and safety concerns.[94]

Colombian pipeline

In July 2006, a group of Colombian farmers won a multi million pound settlement from BP after the British oil and gas company was accused of benefiting from a regime of terror carried out by Colombian government paramilitaries to protect a 450-mile (720 km) pipeline.[95]

Mist mountain project

There have been some calls[who?] for BP to halt its "Mist Mountain" Coalbed Methane Project in the Southern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. The proposed 500 km² project is directly adjacent to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.[96]

Canadian oil sands

BP is one of numerous firms who are extracting oil from Canadian oil sands, a process that produces four times as much CO2 as conventional drilling.[97] The Cree aboriginal group describe BP as being complicit in 'the biggest environmental crime on the planet'.[98]

BP corporate and retail brands

BP gasoline station in Zanesville, Ohio using previous BP prototype.

Corporate branding

BP Amoco changed its name to BP in 2000, and introduced a new corporate slogan: “Beyond Petroleum.” It replaced its “Green Shield” logo with the helios symbol, a green and yellow sunflower pattern similar to the emblem of the Green Party of Canada. These changes were intended to highlight the company’s interest in alternative and environmentally friendly fuels. When, in July 2006, BP admitted, only after journalists became aware of the spill, that it was facing criminal charges for allowing 270,000 gallons of crude oil to spread into the Alaskan tundra, critics pointed to the relative lack of press coverage about the spill as evidence that BP had successfully greenwashed its image while maintaining environmentally unsound practices.[99][100]

In 2008, BP was awarded a satirical prize, the "Emerald Paintbrush" award, by Greenpeace UK. The "Emerald Paintbrush" award was given to BP in order to highlight its alleged greenwashing campaign. Critics point out that while BP advertises its relatively minimal investment in alternative energy sources, the majority of its investments continue to go into fossil fuels.[101] BP was also one nominee for the 2009 Greenwash Awards.[102]

BP

BP is one of the world's shortest and most valuable brands. The Helios logo (Helios is the name of the Greek sun god), represents energy in its many forms. The company owns the two letter internet domain bp.com, which the company registered November 10, 1989. BP is among the earliest brands to own such a short Domain name.[103] BP's tagline is "Beyond Petroleum"; according to the company this represents their focus on meeting the growing demand for fossil fuels, manufacturing and delivering more advanced products, and enabling the material transition to a lower carbon future.[104]

ampm

Main article: ampm

ampm is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, recently in Illinois, Indiana, Georgia and Florida, and in several countries worldwide such as Japan. In the western US, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO gas station; elsewhere, the stores are attached to BP gas stations. BP Connect stations in the US are transitioning to the ampm brand.

Aral

In Germany and Luxembourg, BP operates its petrol retail chain under the name Aral after acquiring the majority of Veba Öl AG in 2001 and rebranding almost all of its BP filling stations to Aral.

ARCO

Main article: ARCO

ARCO is BP's retail brand on the US West Coast in the seven Western states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, and Utah. BP acquired ARCO (formerly the Atlantic Richfield Company) in 2000. ARCO is a popular "cash only" retailer, selling products refined from Alaska North Slope crude at the Cherry Point Refinery in Washington, a plant in Los Angeles, and at other contract locations on the West Coast.

BP Travel Centre

BP Travel Centres are large scale destination sites located in Australia which on top of offering the same features of a BP Connect site with fuel and a Wild Bean Cafe, also feature major food-retail tenants such as McDonalds, KFC, Nando's and recently Krispy Kreme, with a large seating capacity food court. There are also facilities for long-haul truck drivers including lounge, showers and washing machines all in the same building. There are 4 travel centers located in South East Queensland, Australia. Two on the Pacific Highway (Coomera and Stapylton) and two on the Bruce Highway (Caboolture). A fifth travel centre was opened in 2007 at Chinderah in northern New South Wales.

BP Connect

BP Connect is BP's flagship retail brand name with BP Connect Service stations being operated around the UK, Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other parts of the world. BP Connect sites feature the Wild Bean Cafe which offers cafe style coffee made by the staff and a selection of hot food as well as freshly baked muffins and sandwiches. The food offered in Wild Bean Cafe varies from each site. BP Connect sites usually offer table and chair seating and often an Internet kiosk. In the US, the BP Connect concept is gradually being transitioned to the ampm brand and concept. Some BP Connect sites around the UK ran in partnership with Marks & Spencer with the on-site shop being an M&S Simply Food instead of a BP Shop.

BP Express

BP Express was the flagship BP brand prior to the introduction of BP Connect in 2000. There are still some BP Express sites operating around the world but most have been either upgraded to Connect or changed to an alternative brand. BP Express offers a bakery service but doesn't have the selection of food offered in the Wild Bean Cafe and usually coffee is only available through a self service machine.

In the Netherlands BP is opening unmanned stations with no shops or employees. These stations are called BP Express.[105] Some of these stations used to be 'ordinary' BP stations, some are new to the BP network. Apart from these stations BP Express shopping does also exist in the Netherlands.

BP Shop

A BP petrol prices sign outside a BP Shop garage in the United Kingdom (prices in UK pence per litre)

BP Shop is commonly used on smaller, mainly independently owned sites. Products vary in each BP Shop but consist usually of a selection of convenience store-style food and automotive products.

BP 2go branded petrol station in Australia

BP 2go

BP 2go is a franchise brand used for independently operated sites in New Zealand and is currently being rolled out throughout Australia (Although not all BP 2go stores are franchises in Australia). BP 2go sites mainly operate in towns and outer suburbs in New Zealand. BP 2go offers similar bakery food to BP Connect but in a pre-packaged form. Some BP Express sites around New Zealand and Australia that were considered too small to be upgraded to BP Connect were given the option to change to BP 2go others were downgraded to BP Shop. Staff at some BP 2go sites wear a different style of uniform to the rest of the BP branded sites, however in company owned and operated 2go sites in Australia the same uniform is worn across all sites.

Castrol

Castrol is a brand of motor oil and other lubricants which is entirely a BP brand but tends to retain its separate identity.

Air BP and BP Shipping

Air BP is the aviation fuel arm, BP Marine the marine fuels and lubricants arm, and BP Shipping is the shipping arm within the BP group.

BP Shipping provides the logistics to move BP's oil and gas cargoes to market, as well as marine assurance[clarification needed] on everything that floats in the BP group. It manages a large fleet of vessels most of which are held on long-term operating leases. BP Shipping's chartering teams based in London, Singapore, and Chicago also charter third party vessels on both time charter and voyage charter basis.

The BP-managed fleet consists of Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), one North Sea shuttle tanker, medium size crude and product carriers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, and coasters. All of these ships are double-hulled.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Annual Results 2009" (pdf). BP. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
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  3. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/26/business/bp-plans-name-change.html
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Further reading

  • Ferrier, R.W. (1982). The History of the British Petroleum Company: The Developing Years 1901-1932. Vol. vol. I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521246474. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Bamberg, James H (1994). The History of the British Petroleum Company: The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954. Vol. vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521259509. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Bamberg, James H (2000). The History of the British Petroleum Company: British Petroleum and Global Oil, 1950-1975: The Challenge of Nationalism. Vol. vol. III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521259517. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Meyer, Karl E (2008). Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 97803930619944. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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