BP

For more information on BP PLC, visit Britannica.com.

Type: Public
On the web: http://www.bp.com
Employees: 92,000
Employee growth: (5.7%)

BP is also BO (Big Oil). It is the world's third-largest integrated oil concern, behind Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. BP explores for oil and gas in 29 countries and has proved reserves of 18.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent. BP is the largest oil and gas producer in the US and also a top refiner, processing more than 3.8 million barrels of crude oil per day. BP markets its products in more than 100 countries and operates more than 24,000 gas stations worldwide. To further project its image as an environmentally sensitive enterprise, BP has created an Alternative Energy unit with an initial investment of $1.8 billion to develop green energy sources.

Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2008:
Sales: $367,053.0M
One year growth: 25.9%
Net income: $21,666.0M
Income growth: 2.3%

Officers:
Director: Carl-Henric Svanberg
Chairman: Peter D. Sutherland
Group Chief Executive and Director: Anthony B. (Tony) Hayward

Competitors:
Chevron
Exxon
Royal Dutch Shell

Incorporated: 1998 as BP Amoco PLC
NAIC:32411 Petroleum Refineries; 211111 Crude Petroleum and
SIC: 2911 Petroleum Refining; 1311 Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas; 1321 Natural Gas Liquids; 4922 Natural Gas Transmission; 4612 Crude Petroleum Pipelines; 4613 Refined Petroleum Pipelines; 2992 Lubricating Oils & Greases

Formed by the 1998 merger of British Petroleum Company and Amoco Corporation, BP p.l.c. is the third largest oil company in the world. The company is integrated, with operations in three main segments. The first, exploration and production, operates in 29 countries and produces 1.93 million barrels of crude oil and 7.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. BP's second segment consists of "downstream" businesses such as refining, marketing, supply, and transportation. In this segment, the company operates 23 oil refineries, with total daily throughput of 3.2 million barrels, and 29,000 service stations around the world. BP's third major segment is the production of petrochemicals--substances obtained from petroleum. BP's petrochemicals are used in a wide range of applications, including packaging, fuel additives, synthetic rubber, detergents, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The company is the world's largest maker of purified terephthalic acid, a substance used to manufacture polyester and fibers and resins used in bottles and containers. The company also has growing operations in solar power.

BP originated in the activities of William Knox D'Arcy, an adventurer who had made a fortune in Australian mining. In 1901 D'Arcy secured a concession from the Grand Vizier of Persia (now known as Iran) to explore for petroleum throughout most of his empire. The search for oil proved extremely costly and difficult, since Persia was devoid of infrastructure and politically unstable. Within a few years D'Arcy was in need of capital. Eventually, after intercession by members of the British Admiralty, the Burmah Oil Company joined D'Arcy in a Concessionary Oil Syndicate in 1905 and supplied further funds in return for operational control. In May 1908 oil was discovered in the southwest of Persia at Masjid-i-Suleiman, the first oil discovery in the Middle East. The following April the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was formed, with the Burmah Oil Company holding most of the shares.

The dominant figure in the early years of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was Charles Greenway. Greenway began his career in the firm of managing agents who handled the marketing of Burmah Oil's products in India. Invited by Burmah Oil to help in the formation of Anglo-Persian Oil, he became a founding director, was appointed managing director in 1910, and took the position of chairman in 1914. The first few years of the company's existence were extremely difficult, and it survived as an independent entity in large part through Greenway's skill. Although Anglo-Persian Oil had located a prolific oil field, it encountered major problems in refining the crude oil. The company also lacked a tanker fleet and a distribution network to sell its products.

For a time Anglo-Persian Oil risked being absorbed by one of the larger oil companies, such as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, with whom it signed a ten-year marketing agreement in 1912. But in 1914 Greenway preserved the independence of Anglo-Persian Oil by a unique agreement with the British government. Under the terms of this agreement, negotiated with Winston Churchill, then first lord of the Admiralty, Greenway signed a long-term contract with the British Admiralty for the supply of fuel oil, which the Royal Navy wished to use as a replacement for coal.

At the same time, in an unusual departure from the United Kingdom's laissez-faire traditions, the British government invested £2 million in Anglo-Persian Oil, receiving in return a majority shareholding that it would retain for many years. The transaction provided the company with funds for further investment in refining equipment and an initial investment in transport and marketing in fulfillment of Greenway's ambition to create an independent, integrated oil business. In return for its investment, the British government was allowed to appoint two directors to the company's board with powers of veto, which could not, however, be exercised over commercial affairs. In fact, the government directors never used their veto throughout the period of state shareholding in the company. On paper Anglo-Persian Oil was state controlled until the 1980s; in practice it functioned as a purely commercial company.

World War I created considerable opportunities for the fledgling enterprise. Although within Persia the authority of the shah had almost disintegrated, and in 1915 Anglo-Persian Oil's pipeline to the coast was cut by dissident tribesmen and German troops, demand for oil products was soaring. Between 1912 and 1918 there was a tenfold increase in oil production in Iran. The war also created opportunities for Greenway to further his ambition of establishing an integrated oil business. In 1915 Greenway founded a wholly owned oil tanker subsidiary, and within five years Anglo-Persian Oil had more than 30 oil tankers. In 1917, in his biggest coup, Greenway acquired British Petroleum Company, the British marketing subsidiary of the European Petroleum Union. The European Petroleum Union, a Continental alliance with significant Deutsche Bank participation, had been expropriated by the British government as an enemy property. In 1917 Greenway also decided to establish a refinery at Swansea, Wales, with improved refining technology that could produce petroleum products for British and European markets.

World War I, coupled with Greenway's skill, led to Anglo Persian Oil's emergence by the late 1920s as one of the world's largest oil companies, matching Royal Dutch/Shell and Standard Oil of New Jersey in stature. During the 1920s the company made a major expansion in marketing, establishing subsidiaries in many European countries and, after the expiration of the agreement with Shell in 1922, in Africa and Asia. New refineries were established in Scotland and France, and a research laboratory erected in Sunbury, Great Britain, in 1917 greatly expanded the company's activities. In the early 1920s there were some criticisms of the management of Anglo-Persian Oil within the British government and some suggestions that the state shareholding be privatized, but in November 1924 a decision was made to retain the government's equity stake.

Greenway's successor was John Cadman, a former mining engineer who had been a professor of mining at Birmingham University before World War I and who had become a major figure in official British oil policy during the war. In 1923 he became a managing director of Anglo-Persian Oil, and in 1927, chairman. He introduced major administrative reforms and, in the words of business historian Alfred Chandler, as quoted in Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, "was one of the few effective British organizational builders." Cadman was successful in overcoming the excessive departmentalism and lack of coordination that had formerly characterized the company. In 1928, he also joined forces with other leading oil companies in a clandestine price-fixing agreement among the world's largest oil companies.

In the 1930s one of Cadman's greatest challenges came from the growth of Persian nationalism. Previously, in 1921, the old dynasty of shahs had been overthrown by an army colonel, Reza Khan, who made himself shah in 1925. Reza Khan was determined to reverse the foreign political and economic domination of his country. Anglo-Persian Oil had a symbolic role as a bastion of British imperialism, and, following growing resentment of declining royalty payments from the company due to its falling profits during the Great Depression, the government of Persia canceled its concession in November 1932. The dispute eventually went to the League of Nations, and in 1933 Persia signed a new 60-year concession agreement with Anglo-Persian Oil that reduced the area of the concession to about a quarter of the original and introduced a new tonnage basis of assessment for royalty payments. Anglo-Persian Oil had the formidable backing of the British government, and Persia gained little out of the dispute.

The oil company, which was renamed Anglo-Iranian Oil in 1935--the year Persia became Iran--became a renewed target of nationalist discontent after World War II. The Iranians complained that their dividends were too small, and the signing of 50-50 profit-sharing agreements between governments and oil companies elsewhere--in Venezuela in 1948 and Saudi Arabia in 1950--fueled criticism of Anglo-Iranian Oil within Iran. Extensive negotiations ensued between the company and the Iranian government. Anglo-Iranian Oil eventually offered substantial concessions, but they came too late and were repudiated by the nationalist government of Muhammad Mussadegh.

On May 1, 1951, the Iranian oil industry was formally nationalized. Several years of complex negotiations followed, and eventually, a 1953 coup--in which the British government and the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were implicated--resulted in the overthrow of Mussadegh. After his removal from power, an agreement was reached that allowed the return to Iran of Anglo-Iranian Oil--renamed the British Petroleum Company in 1954--but not on such favorable terms as the company had secured after the early 1930s dispute. Under the accord, which was reached in August 1954, British Petroleum held a 40 percent interest in a newly created consortium of Western oil companies, formed to undertake oil exploration, production, and refining in Iran.

The events of 1951-54 had encouraged BP to diversify away from its overdependence on a single source of crude oil. The Iranian nationalization deprived the company of two-thirds of its production. The company responded by increasing output in Iraq and Kuwait and by building new refineries in Europe, Australia, and Aden (now part of Yemen). Oil exploration activities were launched in the Arabian Gulf, Canada, Europe, north Africa, east Africa, and Australia. Meanwhile, BP, which had moved first into petrochemicals in the late 1940s, became the second largest chemicals company in the United Kingdom in 1967.

The company's future was secured at the end of the 1960s by major oil discoveries in Alaska and the North Sea. In 1965 BP found gas in British waters of the North Sea. In October 1970 it discovered the Forties field, the first major commercial oil find in British waters. Throughout the 1960s BP also had been looking for oil in Alaska, and in 1969 this effort was rewarded by a major discovery at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope. In the previous year BP had acquired the U.S. East Coast refining and marketing operations from Atlantic Richfield Company, and the stage was now set for a surge of expansion in the United States. Through its large share in Prudhoe Bay, BP owned more than 50 percent of the biggest oil field in the United States, and it needed outlets for this oil.

The solution was a 1969 agreement with the Standard Oil Company of Ohio (SOHIO), the market leader in Ohio and several neighboring states. Under the agreement, SOHIO took over BP's Prudhoe Bay leases as well as the downstream facilities acquired from Atlantic Richfield. In return, BP acquired 25 percent of SOHIO's equity. In 1970 BP and SOHIO engaged in a seven-year struggle to develop the Prudhoe Bay oil field and construct the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline system, which was finally completed in 1977. By the following year BP had taken a majority holding in SOHIO. Later, in 1987, BP would acquire SOHIO outright and merge it with BP's other interests in the United States to form a new company: BP America.

The oil price shocks and the transformation of the balance of power between oil companies and host governments that occurred in the 1970s caused many problems for BP, as for other Western oil companies. BP lost most of its direct access to crude oil supplies produced in countries that belonged to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The company's oil assets were nationalized in Libya in 1971 and Nigeria in 1979. BP and Shell clashed with the British government in 1973 over the allocation of scarce oil supplies. BP's chairman, Sir Eric Drake, refused to give priority to supplying the United Kingdom, despite forceful reminders from Prime Minister Edward Heath that the government owned half of the company.

Problems in the oil industry prompted BP to diversify away from its traditional role as an integrated oil company heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil production. Beginning in the mid-1970s, BP built up a large coal business, especially in the United States, Australia, and South Africa. BP's chemical interests also expanded during this period, especially after 1978, when it acquired major European assets from Union Carbide and Monsanto. Also in the mid-1970s, BP became active in mineral mining, acquiring Selection Trust, a mining finance house based in Great Britain, in what was then the London stock market's largest ever takeover bid.

CEO Sir Peter Walters, who took BP's helm in 1981, guided a five-year acquisitions binge costing approximately £10 billion. It included the purchase of the Purina Mills animal feed company in 1986 as well as the purchase of the remaining shares in SOHIO. In 1981 SOHIO acquired Keiecott, the largest U.S. copper producer.

Seen retrospectively, this diversification strategy was not always a wise one. A major world recession after 1979 led to considerable overcapacity, forcing BP to close down or sell off parts of its chemicals business in the early 1980s. Late in the decade, the energy conglomerate sold off its coal and minerals interests in the United States, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, and South Africa, netting £428 million in the process. BP started to consolidate its upstream business through divestment in the late 1980s. Another sale of selected worldwide oil and gas interests and assets brought in $1.3 billion. In 1990 and 1991 sales of exploration interests and assets in New Zealand, France, The Netherlands, and from the BP Exploration division in particular totaled £830 million.

One notably successful acquisition was Britoil, a company established by the British government in the 1970s to participate in North Sea oil exploration. Britoil had become one of the largest independent oil exploration and production companies, and in acquiring it, BP almost doubled its exploration acreage in the North Sea.

The late 1980s saw considerable changes at BP. In October 1987 the government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sold its remaining shares in the company as part of a privatization program. The timing of the share issue was particularly unfortunate, as the world's stock markets collapsed between the opening and closing of the offer. One result of the sale was that by March 1988 the Kuwait Investment Office had built up a 21.6 percent stake in the company; government regulatory authorities subsequently reported that this share was reduced to less than 10 percent.

In the early 1990s British Petroleum sought to consolidate its activities to focus on its traditional areas of strength in "upstream" areas--oil and gas exploration, field development, production, pipeline transportation, and gas marketing--and "downstream" areas--oil supply trading, refining, and marketing--as well as in chemicals manufacturing. As a result of its corporate shuffling, BP now focused on its three core businesses: oil exploration and production, oil refining and marketing, and chemicals.

In 1990 BP announced Project 1990, a fundamental change of its corporate structure. The primary aims were to reduce organizational complexity, reshape the central organization and reduce its cost, and reposition BP for the 1990s. Project 1990 was the brainchild of BP's chairman, Robert Horton. Horton earned a reputation for saving money and rose to prominence at BP by cutting costs first at the company's tanker division, then progressing to BP's chemicals subsidiary. Eventually becoming chairman and chief executive officer of BP Oil in 1990, he set out to cut $750 million from BP's annual bottom line by revamping the corporate culture.

At the heart of the scheme was a conviction that BP had become overly bureaucratic and that strategic flexibility was handicapped as a result. In 1990, Horton said, "What I'm trying to do is simply, refocus, and make it clear we don't need to have hierarchies. We don't need to have baronial head office departments. This is a fundamentally different way of looking at the way you run the center of the corporation." Under Project 1990, nearly 90 percent of corporate center committees were abolished, with individuals taking responsibility instead. Hierarchically structured departments were to be replaced by small flexible teams with more open and less formal lines of communication.

Unfortunately, Project 1990 quickly came to represent wholesale job cuts and low morale. Between 1990 and 1992, more than 19,000 positions--more than 16 percent of the total workforce--were cut. The intended result of the job cuts was to shorten the lines of command and promote individual responsibility, but workloads were not redistributed in the process. Project 1990 earned a poor reputation among employees, because some of the most basic measures to promote good communication and efficiency were eschewed for job elimination. Horton also insisted on maintaining BP's dividend--despite cuts in other vital areas.

As a result of Project 1990's shortcomings, many employees lost faith in it, according to a 1991 internal survey. Horton's personal abrasiveness and tendency to dictate, rather than cultivate, change earned him an unflattering nickname: "The Hatchet." He was forced to resign on June 25, 1992, after BP sustained its first ever quarterly losses. Sales had slid from $66.4 billion in 1990 to $51.9 billion in 1992, and profits declined from $3.2 billion to an annual loss of £458 million ($811 million).

Horton's role was split between Lord Ashburton, the nonexecutive director who had led the mutiny, and Sir David Simon, who advanced from chief operating officer to chief executive officer. Ironically, however, Simon and Ashburton soon found that they needed to accelerate, not reverse, Horton's plan. First, they organized the company's interests into three primary divisions: BP Exploration, BP Oil, and BP Chemicals. The new organizational scheme allowed the parent to better analyze and pinpoint underperforming and noncore assets with a view to improvement or elimination. Of the $4 billion in assets targeted for divestment were BP Nutrition and the company's controlling stake in BP Canada. The company also planned to reduce debt by $1 billion annually and invest $5 billion per year on capital projects.

From 1993 to 1995, BP cut another 9,000 people from the payroll, reducing employment to less than 54,000 by the end of 1996. Reorganization efforts also focused on the troubled American subsidiary, BP Oil, which contributed more than $20 million of the parent company's 1992 loss. Cost-cutting measures at the subsidiary ran the gamut, from selling 300 California and Florida gas stations, to employee buyouts eliminating 600 to 700 jobs, to the close scrutinization of travel vouchers.

The ongoing cuts (which were expected to bring employment down to 50,000) brought home a stern reality; as an unnamed source told Oil & Gas Journal in 1996, "There is no doubt among staff that BP is a lean and mean machine these days, and not the Rolls-Royce among oil companies it once thought itself." Ashburton and Simon also halved BP's "fat-cat" dividend, a measure Horton had been reluctant to take. In 1995, Sir John Browne, former chief of Exploration, took over as BP's chief executive. The change in leadership was to bring about even greater shifts in the company's focus, direction, and size.

Under Browne's guidance, BP accelerated its use of strategic partnerships to cut the cost of doing business around the world. In 1996, for example, the company merged its European fuel and lubricants business--including pipelines, terminals, road tanker fleets, refineries, depots, and retail sites--with Mobil Corporation. The joint venture operated in 43 countries and held a 12 percent share for fuels and an 18 percent share for lubricants in the European market. A joint venture with China's Shanghai Petrochemical Company expanded BP's chemical interests in Asia while limiting the company's liabilities. The company hoped to target Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe for new downstream operations. In 1997, BP announced that it would build its first service stations in Japan. Also in 1997, BP acquired a 10 percent equity stake in AO Sidanco, a major Russian oil and gas company, as well as 45 percent of Sidanco's majority interest in a separate Russian company with major oil and gas properties in east Siberia.

The partnerships and acquisitions of the mid-1990s were mere foreshadowings of much bigger deals to come. In 1998, BP made history by acquiring Amoco Corporation, the fifth largest oil company in the United States and the largest producer of natural gas in North America. The $50 billion deal was both the first megamerger in the oil industry and largest industrial merger ever made. It was a highly significant move for BP; not only did it add substantially to the company's oil operations, but more important, it gave the company a leadership position in natural gas. With demand for gas expected to grow much faster than demand for oil in the coming years, it was critical for BP to move in that direction.

Amoco had been in business since 1889, although it had been known as Standard Oil Company (Indiana) until its name was changed in 1985. The company was formed outside Whiting, Indiana, a location chosen by John Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust as a refinery site close enough to sites in the growing midwestern market to keep freight costs low, yet far enough away to avoid disturbing residents.

From the beginning, the Whiting facility was organized as a self-supporting entity, planning for long-term expansion. Although refining was its main activity, it also constructed oil barrels for transportation and manufactured an oil-based product line consisting of axle grease, harness oil, paraffin wax for candles, and kerosene produced from the crude oil. The oil itself flowed to Chicago and other midwestern cities via two pipes originating in Lima, Ohio. Land transportation began on the refinery's grounds, at a railroad terminal belonging to the Chicago & Calumet Terminal Railroad, a company over which a Standard Oil interest had gained control. This terminal's placement gave the company exclusive use of the tracks, access to the West and the Southwest, and a direct route that eliminated the expense of switching tolls.

Standard (Indiana) had no direct marketing organization of its own. After the Standard Oil Trust was liquidated in 1892 by order of the Ohio Supreme Court, the 20 companies under its jurisdiction reverted to their former status and became subsidiaries of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey). The functions of Standard Oil (Indiana) were then expanded to include marketing.

The company's capitalization was increased from $500,000 to $1 million, which was divided into $100 shares. Standard Oil still owned about 54 percent of Standard (Indiana). Standard (Indiana) used the extra cash to buy Standard Oil Company (Minnesota) and Standard Oil Company (Illinois), formerly P.C. Hanford Oil Company, an oil marketing organization in Chicago. The extra capital expanded Standard's sales territory, which was broadened even further when the property of Chester Oil Company of Minnesota was bought. Other acquisitions followed, and by 1901 the company was marketing through its own organization in 11 states.

At first, Standard (Indiana) had few competitors in the petroleum-product market. It enjoyed about 88 percent of the business in kerosene and heavy fuel oil. After competition began to grow, Standard (Indiana) fought back with strategically placed bulk storage stations and subsidiary companies in competitive areas that cut prices and drove competitors out. Earnings rose from $605,781 in 1896 to a high of almost $4.2 million in 1899, but the company's competitive practices and its growing market share made it the target of government agencies.

In 1911, after a court battle lasting almost three years, Standard Oil Company (New Jersey)--the parent company to Standard (Indiana) and other Standard companies--was ordered to relinquish supervision of its subsidiaries. Gasoline sales had risen from 31.6 million gallons to 1.57 billion between 1897 and 1911. Once independent, Standard (Indiana) began to cater to the burgeoning automobile market, opening a Minneapolis, Minnesota, service station in 1912. Chicago's first service station opened in 1913, and by 1918, there were 451 altogether. Together with growing sales of road oil, asphalt, and other supporting products, the automotive industry provided one-third of all Standard (Indiana) business.

To get as much gasoline out of each barrel of crude as possible, Standard formulated the cracking process, which doubled the yield by separating the oil's molecules, by means of heat and pressure, into a dense liquid plus a lighter product that would boil in gasoline's range. The possibility of cheaper gasoline and a new line of petroleum-based products made the method attractive to other refiners, who licensed it, accounting for 34 percent of the company's total profits between 1913 and 1922.

With the end of World War I, company Chairman Colonel Robert Stewart's top priority was to find a secure source of crude oil, to meet the rapidly expanding demand for gasoline and kerosene. Before the war, Standard had depended on the Prairie Oil and Gas Company for its supply, but military needs diverted Prairie's crude to the refineries along the Atlantic seaboard. To obtain a reliable source of crude oil, Stewart acquired 33 percent of Midwest Refining Company of Wyoming, in 1920. A half interest in the Sinclair Pipe Company was purchased in 1921, for $16.4 million in cash, improving transportation capacity. Sinclair's 2,900 miles of pipeline ran from north Texas to Chicago, encompassed almost 6,000 wells, and ran through oil-rich Wyoming.

Standard bought an interest in the Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company in 1925. The interest, costing $37.6 million, was the largest oil consolidation in the history of the industry, giving Standard (Indiana) access to one of the world's largest tanker fleets and entry into oil fields in Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq. In 1929 Standard (Indiana) acquired another chunk of Pan American stock through a stock swap, bringing its total ownership of Pan American to 81 percent.

Pan American also introduced Standard to the American Oil Company, of Baltimore, Maryland. Started by the Blaustein family, American Oil marketed most of Pan American's oil in the eastern United States and was 50 percent owned by Pan American and 50 percent owned by the Blausteins. The Blausteins were initiators of the first measuring gasoline pump and inventors of the high-octane Amoco-Gas that reduced engine knocking.

Though expensive, these investments proved to be sound; by 1929, the Depression notwithstanding, Standard Oil (Indiana) was second only to Standard Oil (New Jersey) as a buyer of crude oil. Equally profitable as a supplier, the company's net earnings for 1929 were $78.5 million after taxes.

In 1929 Stewart was followed as CEO by Edward G. Seubert, who continued to strengthen Standard's crude oil supply. With an eye to future supply security, Seubert shifted the emphasis to buying and developing crude oil-producing properties like McMan Oil and Gas Company, a 1930 purchase that provided 10,000 barrels daily. Also in 1930, Standard acquired both the remaining 50 percent interest in the Sinclair Pipe Line Company and the Sinclair Crude Oil Purchasing Company for $72.5 million, giving it control over one of the country's largest pipeline systems and crude oil buying agencies. These subsidiaries now became the Stanolind Pipe Line Company and the Stanolind Crude Oil Purchasing Company; they were joined in 1931 by the Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, a newly organized subsidiary absorbing several smaller ones.

In 1929 a retail venture called the Atlas Supply Company, which was co-organized with five other Standard firms, had been organized to sell automobile tires and other accessories nationwide. The Great Depression, however, made competition fierce by the end of 1930. Even worse conditions threatened after the largest oil field in history was found in east Texas in late 1930. The new field caused production to rise quickly to a daily average of 300,000 barrels in 1931, glutting the market. Ruthless price-cutting followed. Standard (Indiana) did not engage in this practice, preferring instead to curtail exploration and drilling activities. As a result, only 49.9 billion barrels were produced in 1931, as against 55.1 billion the year before, and the company's 13 domestic facilities operated well below capacity. The 45,073 employees worked on construction projects, and accepted wage cuts and part-time employment to minimize layoffs. The flow of cheap crude oil continued, often in excess of limits set by state regulatory bodies; gas sales were accompanied by premiums like candy, ash trays, and cigarette lighters. Track-side stations, where gasoline was pumped from the tank car into the customer's automobile, posed another price-cutting threat. Also prevalent were cooperatives organized by farmers, who would buy tank cars of gasoline for distribution among members to save money. These conditions caused 1932 earnings to reach only $16.5 million--down from $17.5 million in 1931.

In 1932 Standard decided to sell Pan American's foreign interests to Standard Oil (New Jersey). These properties cost Standard Oil (New Jersey) slightly less than $48 million cash plus about 1.8 million shares of Standard Oil (New Jersey) stock.

By 1934 the worst of the Depression was over. Activities in Texas led the Stanolind Oil & Gas Company to the Hastings field, which held 43 producing wells by the end of 1935. Also in 1935, more oil-producing acreage in east Texas came with Stanolind Oil & Gas Company's $42 million purchase of the properties of Beaumont-based Yount-Lee Oil Company, an acquisition that helped Stanolind Oil & Gas to increase its daily average production to 68,965 barrels.

During the 1930s overproduction began to threaten, and federal and state governments tried to curb oil production with heavy taxes. Standard felt the bite in Iowa's 1935 chain-store tax, which could not be justified by its service stations' profit margin. Therefore, the company turned back leased stations to their owners, and leased company-owned stations to independent operators, to be operated as separate outlets. By the following July, all 11,685 Standard (Indiana) service stations were independently operated and the company was once more primarily a producer distributing oil at wholesale prices. This move spurred the newly independent entrepreneurs, whose increased sales helped to achieve a net profit for Standard of $30.2 million for 1935.

When Standard reached its 50th year in 1939, during World War II, its research chemists were working to improve the high-octane fuels needed for military and transport planes. Standard's engineers cooperated with other companies to build the pipelines necessary for oil transportation. By 1942, the "Big Inch" pipeline carried a daily load of 300,000 barrels of crude from Texas to the East Coast, where most of it was used to support the war effort. Loss of manpower and government steel restrictions curbed operations, yet the company produced 47 million barrels of crude and purchased about 102 million barrels from outside sources. Other wartime products from Standard plants included paraffin wax coatings for military food rations, toluene (the main ingredient for TNT), butane, and butylene for aviation gasoline and synthetic rubber.

On January 1, 1945, Seubert retired as president and chief executive officer of the company. He left behind him 33,244 employees, sales of crude oil topping the 1944 figure by 37.1 percent, and a gross income of $618.9 million. Seubert was succeeded as chairman and CEO by Robert E. Wilson, formerly president of Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company, and Alonzo W. Peake became president. Peake had been vice-president of production.

The management style instituted by Wilson and Peake differed from the centralized, solo authority Seubert preferred. The two men split the supervisory authority, with no overlap of direct authority. Wilson was responsible for finance, research and development, law, and industrial relations, while Peake's commitments included refining, production, supply and transportation, and sales and long-range planning. Responsibility for operating subsidiaries was split between the two. The result was a decentralized organization, making for swifter, more cooperative decision-making at all levels.

In 1948 Stanolind Oil & Gas formed a foreign exploration department to head exploration attempts in Canada and other countries. The new team spent more than $98 million by 1950, with Canada and the Gulf of Mexico its prime targets.

By 1952 Standard Oil (Indiana) was acknowledged as the nation's largest domestic oil company. It possessed 12 refineries able to market products in 41 states, plus almost 5,000 miles of crude oil gathering lines, 10,000 miles of trunk lines, and 1,700 miles of refined product pipelines. By 1951, gross income had reached $1.54 billion.

In 1955 Peake retired as president, to be succeeded by former Executive Vice-President Frank Prior, who inherited the problem of a decrease in allowable production days in the state of Texas, as a result of additions to oil reserves in the state. The rising amount of imported oil was another problem that surfaced during Peake's tenure. The total had swelled from 490,000 barrels per day in 1951 to 660,000 barrels in 1954.

Nevertheless, cheaper international exploration costs spurred Standard (Indiana) to again become active in the growing foreign oil arena that it had all but left in 1932 when it sold Pan American's foreign interests. To handle international land leasing and joint ventures, the company organized Pan American International Oil Corporation in New York, as a subsidiary of Pan American Petroleum. Foreign operations included exploration rights for 13 million acres in Cuba, obtained in 1955; a subsidiary company formed in Venezuela in 1958, for joint exploration of 180,000 acres together with other companies; and 23 million acres obtained for exploration in Libya.

The traditional oil industry profit arrangement for international activities had been an even split between the company and the host government, although several firms had quietly bent the guidelines. Standard (Indiana) broke openly with this custom in a 1958 deal with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), in which Standard (Indiana) split the profits evenly, then gave NIOC half of its own share, to which it added a $25 million bonus.

The late 1950s also saw domestic reorganization. In 1957 the company consolidated nine subsidiaries into four larger companies. Stanolind Oil & Gas Company became Pan American Petroleum Corporation, consolidating all Standard Oil (Indiana) crude oil and natural gas exploration and production. American Oil Pipe Line Company, a former subsidiary of American Oil, was merged into Service Pipe Line Company--which had been known as Stanolind Pipe Line Company until 1950--focused on oil transport. Crude oil and natural gas purchasing operations were combined to form the Indiana Oil Purchasing Company; and Amoco Chemicals Corporation consolidated all chemical activities into a single organization. Total income for 1957 was about $2 billion.

In 1960 company President John Swearingen succeeded Prior as chief executive officer, the chairmanship being left vacant. Swearingen turned both domestic and foreign operations over to subsidiaries, making Standard Oil (Indiana) entirely a holding company. Operating assets were transferred to the American Oil Company, into which the Utah Oil Refining Company also was merged. American Oil's responsibilities now included the manufacture, transport, and sale of all company petroleum products in 45 states, although limited marketing operations in three other states also were maintained. This consolidation allowed the company to develop a national image and provided more efficiency in staff use and storage and transport flexibility. Coverage being national, the company was able to advertise nationally and demand better rates from ground and air transporters.

Standard (Indiana) also became concerned with product trade names. The 1911 breakup had left several former Standard (New Jersey) subsidiaries in different areas of the country with the Standard Oil name and rights to the associated trademarks. American Oil thus had the right to use the Standard name only in the 15 midwestern states that had been the company's original territory. Thus, in 1957, the word "American," together with the Standard Oil (Indiana) logo, was used in all other states. Since a five-letter name was easier for motorists to note, in 1961 the company began to replace the brand name American with Amoco, the name first coined by American Oil's original owners for the high-octane, anti-knock gasoline that had powered the Charles Lindbergh trans-Atlantic flight. Familiar within the company since the 1945 organization of the Amoco Chemicals Corporation, "Amoco" was used increasingly on products and by subsidiaries, until, by 1971, major subsidiaries everywhere had "Amoco" in their names.

In 1961 Standard's total income reached almost $2.1 billion, yielding net earnings of $153.9 million. Continuing with methodical reorganization, Swearingen oversaw the expansion and modernization of the company's domestic refining capacity as well as 11 of its 14 catalytic cracking units. An aggressive marketing program featured large, strategically placed retail outlets, plus the addition of Avis car rental privileges to the credit card services that had been in operation since the early 1930s. By the end of 1966 there were 5.5 million card holders, encouraging American Oil to go national with its motor club.

Because only 8 percent of its assets was located overseas, Standard (Indiana) still lacked a large foreign market for crude oil. Swearingen moved swiftly to close the gap. By 1964 foreign explorations were taking place in Mozambique, Indonesia, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, and Iran. Refining and marketing also were flourishing, through the acquisition of a 25,000-barrel-per-day refinery near Cremona, Italy, and about 700 Italian service stations. About 250 service stations also were opened in Australia in 1961, along with a 25,000-barrel-per-day refinery. Other foreign refineries were to be found in West Germany, England, Pakistan, and the West Indies. In 1967 Standard began production in the Persian Gulf Cyrus field, by which time the huge El Morgan field in the Gulf of Suez was producing 45,000 barrels daily.

The market for Standard's chemical products also increased during the mid-1960s. To keep pace with demand for the raw materials used in polyester fiber and film, the company built a new facility at Decatur, Alabama, in 1965, adding another in Texas City, Texas, a year later. There were also 641 retail chemical fertilizer outlets in the Midwest and the South. The popularity of polystyrene for packaging also grew. All of these advances ensured profitability; overall chemical sales rose to $158 million by the end of 1967, on total revenues of almost $3.6 billion.

Fuel shortages and the wave of OPEC price rises, nationalizations, and takeovers of the early 1970s underlined the importance of oil exploration. Swearingen's strategy was to accumulate as much domestic exploration acreage as possible before other companies acted, while organizing production in developing foreign markets that were not too competitive.

To capitalize on concern about air pollution, the company introduced a 91-octane lead-free gasoline in 1970 at a cost in excess of $100 million. Although motorists were initially reluctant to accept the 2 cent-per-gallon price rise, the 1973 appearance of catalytic converters on new cars assured the success of the fuel.

Environmental matters came to the fore again in 1978, when an Amoco International Oil Company tanker, the Amoco Cadiz, suffered steering failure during a storm and ran aground off the French coast, leaking about 730,000 gallons of oil into the sea. The huge oil spill cost $75 million to clean up and left its mark on the area's tourist trade as well as its ecosystem. The French government brought a $300 million lawsuit against Amoco that eventually led to a $128 million judgment against Amoco. Amoco appealed the ruling, but the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago not only upheld the judgment but increased it to $281 million. Amoco chose not to appeal this ruling and paid the French government $243 million and the affected Brittany communities $38 million.

In late December 1978 the Shah of Iran was overthrown, and Standard (Indiana) hurriedly closed its Iranian facility and evacuated American staff members after all American employees of Amoco Iran Oil Company received death threats. The year 1978 had seen record-breaking production in Iran, and its loss resulted in a 35 percent production decrease in the company's overseas operations. Despite these turbulent events, net income was $1.5 billion in 1971, on total revenues of $20.197 billion.

By the end of the 1970s, chemical production accounted for about 7 percent of company earnings. To gain more visibility with consumers, Standard (Indiana) began to stress end-product manufacture as well as the production of ingredients used in manufacturing processes. The trend had begun in 1968, when polypropylene manufacturer Avisun Corporation was purchased by Amoco Chemicals Corporation from Sun Oil Company. The $80 million price tag included Patchoque-Plymouth Company, maker of polypropylene carpet backing. By 1986 a 100-color line plus improved stain resistance made Amoco Fabrics & Fibers Company's petrochemical-based Genesis carpeting a serious competitor of the stain-resistant carpeting offered by du Pont. Other strategies focused on market stimulation for basic industrial products. Since this required specialized marketing skills, the company divided its chemical operations among four subsidiaries.

In 1983 John Swearingen retired as chairman of the board. In his stead came Richard W. Morrow, who had been president of the Amoco Chemicals Corporation from 1974 until 1978, before assuming the Standard (Indiana) presidency in 1978. In 1985 Standard Oil Company (Indiana) changed its name to Amoco Corporation. Morrow also presided over the 1988 acquisition of Dome Petroleum, Ltd. of Canada, which was later merged into Amoco Canada. Dome, owning 28.7 million acres of undeveloped, arctic region land, improved Amoco's oil and gas reserves. The Dome purchase was hard-won, costing Amoco $4.2 billion. Other chances to expand oil and gas exploration in 1988 came with the acquisition of Tenneco Oil Company's Rocky Mountain properties, for approximately $900 million.

Amoco Corporation began the 1990s with record revenues of $31.58 billion and net income of $1.91 billion. By 1990, the need for raw materials had expanded internationally, moving strongly toward Europe and the Far East. Joint ventures in Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, and Taiwan met the growing demand for polyester fibers, helping to generate about 35 percent of business overseas.

H. Laurence Fuller took over as chairman in 1991 amidst a downturn in Amoco profits owing to weakening demand for petroleum products and reduced prices caused by the recession. Revenues fell to $28.3 billion in 1991 and to $26.22 billion in 1992, while net income declined to $1.17 billion and $850 million, respectively. Fuller aimed not only to turn around the company's fortunes but also to overtake Exxon, the top U.S. oil company, in profitability. Fuller began this effort with a 1992 restructuring intended to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Approximately 8,500 employees were axed--16 percent of Amoco's workforce--contributing to $600 million in savings. Exploration operations were cut back from a wildcatting strategy spread out over more than 100 countries to a targeted search for oil and gas in 20 countries with proven reserves. China became a prime target area; after establishing an offshore drilling operation in 1987, Amoco signed a deal in 1992 to become the first foreign company to explore the Chinese mainland, thought to hold more than 20 billion barrels of oil.

This restructuring served as prelude to an even larger reorganization effort initiated in 1994. A total of 4,500 more jobs would be cut over the next two years, with projected savings of $1.2 billion each year. Amoco's organizational structure was completely overhauled. The three major subsidiaries--Amoco Production Company, Amoco Oil Company, and Amoco Chemical Company--that had been responsible for the three major areas of operation were replaced by a decentralized structure with 17 business groups divided into three sectors: exploration and production, petroleum products, and chemicals. A Shared Services organization was created to share the resources of Amoco's support operations.

Amoco's chemical operations were overhauled during these restructurings by shedding such weak areas as oil well chemicals and by increasing expenditures in fast-growing areas such as polyester. One result was that profits from Amoco's chemical sector increased from $68 million in 1991 to $574 million in 1994 thanks in large part to its 40 percent share of the world market in paraxylene and purified terephthalic acid, both used to make polyester, the demand for which grew dramatically, especially in Asia.

New product expenditures also were bolstered during this period. With demand for alternative and cleaner-burning fuels on the rise, Amoco introduced Crystal Clear Ultimate, a cleaner-burning premium gasoline, and test-marketed compressed natural gas for use by fleet operators. Also tested were shared service stations that offered Amoco gas and fast food (from McDonald's and Burger King), or such services as dry cleaning (DryClean U.S.A.). These tests were so successful that Amoco planned to roll out 100 such units in 1995 at a cost of $100 million.

In 1994, Amoco made one of its largest natural gas finds off Trinidad and Tobago. The company embarked on a drive to become a leader in natural gas-powered electricity generation, creating Amoco Power Resources Corporation to pursue this venture and purchasing a 10 percent interest in electricity facilities in Trinidad and Tobago.

With the cost of oil and gas exploration soaring and lean operations not able to withstand the failure of a risky venture, more and more oil companies turned to joint ventures in the early and mid-1990s to spread the risk. Amoco was a member of a ten-company consortium that signed an agreement in 1994 with the Republic of Azerbaijan to develop oil fields in the Caspian Sea. Also in 1994 Amoco joined with rivals Shell Oil and Exxon to finance a $1 billion offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, to be the world's deepest. In 1995, Shell and Amoco created a limited partnership to develop oil fields in the Permian Basin area of west Texas and southeast New Mexico. In 1997, Amoco partnered with the Argentina oil company Bridas Corp. to form Pan American Energy--an exploration and production company that planned to conduct operations in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

The middle and late 1990s also were marked by continued divestitures. In 1995, the company sold its motor club business to a subsidiary of Montgomery Ward and its credit card operations to Associates First Capital Corporation, a Ford subsidiary. Two years later, it announced a major divestiture program, designed to shed nonfundamental properties and allow a tighter focus on core assets. The company sold off Amoco Gas Co., a gas pipeline and processing unit in Texas, to Tejas Gas Corp. The same year, the company sold a large portion of its domestic exploration and production assets--including oil and gas properties in Oklahoma; upstream oil and gas operations in Colorado; production properties in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, and North Dakota; and coalbed-methane reserves in Alabama's Black Warrior Basin.

The British Petroleum-Amoco merger was finalized at the end of 1998. The new company--named BP Amoco p.l.c.--was 60 percent owned by BP shareholders and was headed by BP's CEO Sir John Browne. Amoco's former CEO, Laurance Fuller, was co-chairman of the board, an office he shared with BP Chairman Peter Sutherland. BP shareholders owned 60 percent of the company. The merger served a dual purpose for both BP and Amoco. In the short term, it reduced costs by eliminating areas of overlap between the two organizations--most notably, in the reduction of approximately 10,000 jobs. In the long term, the pooling of BP's and Amoco's assets and revenues allowed the company to finance more development and take on larger projects.

But the oil giant's frenetic growth did not stop with the merger. Just a few months after closing the Amoco deal, the company announced yet another major acquisition: Atlantic Richfield Co. (Arco). Arco, which was based in Los Angeles, had been in the oil business since 1866--longer than either British Petroleum or Amoco. The company operated refineries and a 1,700-unit chain of gas stations in the western United States. It also held major oil and gas reserves, most of which were in Alaska. Together, in fact, BP Amoco and Arco would have controlled almost 70 percent of the oil production in Alaska--a degree of control that made the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) uncomfortable. The FTC refused to approve the merger until the company agreed to sell off Arco's Alaskan holdings, and the deal was delayed for months before finally closing in the spring of 2000.

Meanwhile, BP Amoco was pursuing still another acquisition. In March 2000, the company agreed to purchase Burmah Castrol, a U.K. lubricants group. Burmah Castrol was the maker of Castrol brand motor oil, one of the world's best-selling car motor oils. The company also manufactured chemicals used in the foundry, steel, and construction industries. The acquisition, which was finalized in mid-2000, gave BP Amoco the second largest market share in lubricants in Europe. In addition, like Amoco and Arco, it allowed the company to reduce costs by eliminating redundant jobs.

The year 2000 also marked a major change in corporate identity. Known in the two years since the merger as BP Amoco--a marriage of two strong trade names--the company shed "Amoco" from its name, becoming simply "BP p.l.c." The well-known Amoco name and logo were replaced with a new BP logo and color scheme--a green and yellow sunburst. Industry analysts speculated that the changes were intended to help the company move away from its longstanding identity as an "oil company" and reposition itself as an "energy company"--one with operations in oil, natural gas, and solar power.

Browne's aggressive acquisition strategy proved to be both well timed and well executed. The last years of the 20th century were marked by rapidly increasing prices in both crude oil and natural gas--hikes that paid off handsomely for BP. At the same time, the company began to realize the large cost reductions promised by its acquisitions. In 2000, the company made $12 billion in pretax profits--a record for a U.K. company.

Unsurprisingly, it appeared that natural gas would play an important role in BP's future. The company planned to increase its gas marketing and trading business by 9 to 11 percent annually over the first three years of the 21st century. In comparison, the company expected its retail petroleum business to grow by only 3 to 4 percent annually. By 2003, BP estimated gas to account for more than 40 percent of its daily hydrocarbon production.

BP also planned to increase its operations in solar power. In 2001, the company signed a deal with the Spanish and Philippine governments to bring solar power to 150 Philippine villages--the largest solar energy project ever undertaken. BP also planned a fivefold expansion of its solar photovoltaic cell manufacturing operation in Spain. When complete, the Spanish operation would be one of the largest solar facilities in the world. The company planned to have a solar business worth $1 billion by 2007.

Principal Subsidiaries

Amoco Egypt Gas (U.S.A.); Amoco Egypt Oil (U.S.A.); Amoco Energy Company of Trinidad and Tobago (U.S.A.); Amoco Trinidad (LNG) B.V. (Netherlands); Atlantic Richfield Company; Atlantic Richfield Bali North (Indonesia); BP America (U.S.A.); BP Amoco Capital; BP Amoco Company (U.S.A.); BP Amoco Corporation (U.S.A.); BP Amoco Norway; BP Australia; BP Canada Energy; BP Capital BV (Netherlands); BP Chemicals; BP Chemicals Investments; BP Developments Australia; BP Espana; BP Exploration Co.; BP Finance Australia; BP France; BP International; BP Nederland; BP Oil International; BP Oil New Zealand; BP Oil UK; BP Shipping; BP Singapore Pte; BP Solar; BP Southern Africa; Britoil; Burmah Castrol; Deutsche BP; Standard Oil Co. (U.S.A.); Vastar Resources Inc. (U.S.A.); Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (33%); Abu Dhabi Petroleum Co. (24%); China American Petrochemical Co. (Taiwan; 50%); CoTo Finance Partnership (50%); Empresa Petrolera Chaco (Bolivia; 30%); Erdolchemie (Germany; 50%); Lukarco (Kazakhstan; 46%); Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Agency (Thailand; 25%); Pan American Energy (Argentina; 60%); Ruhrgas AG (Germany; 25%); Rusia (Russia; 25%); AO Sidanco (Russia; 10%); Unimar Company Texas (Indonesia; 50%).

Principal Competitors

ChevronTexaco Corporation; Exxon Mobil Corporation; Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

Further Reading

Bahree, Bhushan, Christopher Cooper, and Steve Liesman, "Bigger Oil: BP to Acquire Amoco in Huge Deal Spurred by Low Energy Prices," Wall Street Journal, August 12, 1998, p. A1.

Beck, Robert J., "State Companies Lead OGJ 100 World Reserves, Production List," Oil and Gas Journal, September 28, 1992.

"Big Problems: British Petroleum," Economist, February 8, 1992. "BP After Horton," Economist, July 4, 1992.

Chelminski, Rudolph, Superwreck: Amoco, The Shipwreck That Had to Happen, New York: Morrow, 1987.

Cook, James, "First-Rate Company," Forbes, May 1, 1989, pp. 84-85.

Dedmon, Emmett, Challenge and Response: A Modern History of Standard Oil Company (Indiana), Chicago: Mobium Press, 1984.

Fairhall, David, The Wreck of the Amoco Cadiz, New York: Stein and Day, 1980.

Ferrier, R.W., The History of the British Petroleum Company (Vol. 1), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Giddens, Paul Henry, Standard Oil Company (Indiana): Oil Pioneer of the Middle West, New York: Arno Press, 1976.

Guyon, Janet, "When John Browne Talks, Big Oil Listens," Fortune, July 5, 1999, p. 116.

Jones, Geoffrey, The State and the Emergence of the British Oil Industry, London: Macmillan, 1981.

Knott, David, "BP Sharpening Focus on Improved Shareholder Value, Efficiency," Oil and Gas Journal, July 8, 1996, pp. 22-26.

------, "British Petroleum Maps Strategy for Continued Gains," Oil and Gas Journal, March 22, 1993, pp. 25-29.

Mack, Toni, "Catching Up to Exxon," Forbes, March 13, 1995, pp. 64, 66.

Melcher, Richard A., Peter Burrows, and Tim Smart, "Remaking Big Oil: The Desperate Rush to Slash Costs," Business Week, August 8, 1994, pp. 20-21.

O'Connor, Brian, "Dealmaker Browne May Dazzle with Another Lightning Strike," Daily Mail, November 22, 2001, p. 77.

"An Oil Major Redefines Its Role," Petroleum Economist, February 1, 2001, p. 3.

Palmeri, Christopher, "A Good Match in the Oil Patch," Forbes, September 21, 1998, p. 88.

Strauss, Gary, and Thor Valdmanis, "BP, Amoco Nozzle Up: Oil Companies Pump Out $50 Billion Merger Deal," USA Today, August 12, 1998, p. 1B.

Therrien, Lois, "Amoco: Running Smoother on Less Gas," Business Week, February 15, 1993, pp. 110-12.

"Whittle-Down Economics," Oil and Gas Investor, November 1992, pp. 43-46.

Yerak, Rebecca, "Plugging the Drain at BP Oil," Plain Dealer (Cleveland), January 26, 1993.

— Geoffrey Jones and Gillian Wolf

1. blood pressure.
2. boiling point.
3. British Pharmacopoeia.

This article is about the energy corporation. For other uses, see BP (disambiguation).

BP plc

Type	Public (LSE: BP) (NYSE: BP)
Founded	1909 (as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company) 1954 (as the British Petroleum Company) 2000 (merger of BP, Amoco, and ARCO)
Headquarters	City of Westminster, London, England, UK
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Peter D. Sutherland (Chairman) Anthony B. Hayward (CEO) Byron E. Grote (CFO)
Industry	Oil and Natural Gas, Alternative fuels
Products	BP 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
Revenue	▲ US$ 367.053 billion (2008)
Operating income	▲ US$ 35.239 billion (2008)
Net income	▲ US$ 21.157 billion (2008)
Total assets	▼ US$ 228.238 billion (2008)
Total equity	▼ US$ 91.303 billion (2008)
Employees	92,000 – March 2009
Website	BP.com

BP plc (Formerly British Petroleum plc) is the third largest global energy company and the 5th largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company ("oil major") BP is the UK's largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James's, City of Westminster, London.^[1][2] The company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six "supermajors" (vertically integrated private sector oil exploration, natural gas, and petroleum product marketing companies).^[3] The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Activity in 1909–1979 1.2 1980s and 1990s 1.3 Recent years 2 Governance 3 Financial data 4 Corporate controversies 4.1 August 2006 Prudhoe Bay Shutdown 4.2 October 2007 Prudhoe Bay spill 4.3 November 2008 BP Supports USA over UK 4.4 Canadian oil sands 5 Environmental record 5.1 Texas City Refinery disaster 5.2 Corporate Challenges 6 Contributions to political campaigns 7 BP retail brands 7.1 BP 7.2 ampm 7.3 ARCO 7.4 BP Travel Centre 7.5 BP Connect 7.6 BP Express 7.7 BP Shop 7.8 BP 2go 7.9 Castrol 7.10 Air BP and BP Shipping 8 Advertisement 9 Bibliography 10 See also 11 Notes 12 External links

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.^[4] This was the first commercially significant find in the Middle East. On 14 April 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was incorporated to exploit this.^[4]In 1923, the company secretly gave £5,000 -- the equivalent of perhaps millions in today's money -- to future Prime Minister Winston Churchill to lobby the British government to allow them to monopolise Persian oil resources.^[5] In 1935, it became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC).^[4]

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.^[6] The Majlis of Iran (parliament) elected a nationalist, Mohammed Mossadeq, as prime minister. In April, the Majlis nationalized the oil industry by unanimous vote.^[7] The National Iranian Oil Company was formed as a result, displacing the AIOC.^[8] The AIOC withdrew its management from Iran, and organized an effective boycott of Iranian oil. The British government - which owned the AIOC - contested the nationalization at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, but its complaint was dismissed.^[9]

By spring of 1953, incoming U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to organize a coup against the Mossadeq government.^[10] 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.^[10]

Classic shield logo, designed by Raymond Loewy, used from 1989 to 2003 and still in use in a small number of petrol stations.

Mossadeq was replaced by pro-Western general Fazlollah Zahedi,^[11] and the Shah, who had left the country briefly to await the outcome of the coup, returned to Iran. He abolished the democratic Constitution and assumed autocratic powers.

After the coup, the NIOC became an international consortium, and AIOC resumed operations in Iran as a member of it.^[8] 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."^[12] AIOC, as a part of the Anglo-American coup d'état deal, was not allowed to monopolize 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..^[13]

The AIOC became the British Petroleum Company in 1954. BP continued to operate in Iran until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The new regime of Ayatollah Khomeini confiscated all of BP's assets in Iran without compensation, finally closing BP's 70-year presence in Iran.

In 1959 the company expanded beyond the Middle East to Alaska^[14] and in 1965 it was the first company to strike oil in the North Sea.^[15]

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.^[16]

1980s and 1990s

Sir Peter Walters was BP's chairman from 1981 to 1990.^[17] 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.^[18] The sale process was marked by a bad attempt by the Kuwait Investment Office, the investment arm of the Kuwait government, to acquire control of BP.^[19] This was ultimately blocked by the strong opposition of the British government. In 1987, British Petroleum negotiated the acquisition of Britoil^[20] and the remaining publicly traded shares of Standard Oil of Ohio. ^[16]

A British BP Shop Petrol Station.

Walters was replaced by Robert Horton in 1989. Horton carried out a major corporate downsizing exercise removing various tiers of management within the BP Head Office.^[21]

Lord Browne of Madingley, who had been on the board as managing director since 1991, was appointed group chief executive in 1995.^[22] Browne was responsible for three major acquisitions; Amoco, ARCO and Burmah-Castrol (see below).

Recent years

British Petroleum merged with Amoco (formerly Standard Oil of Indiana) in December 1998,^[23] becoming BPAmoco until 2000 when it was renamed BP 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 gas stations in the United States have changed the look and name to the BP brand. In many states, however, BP is selling Amoco branded gasoline, as it was rated the #1 petroleum brand by consumers 16 years in a row (the name of the service station itself is still BP) and Amoco has one of the highest brand loyalty for gasoline in the US with only Chevron and Shell having such high rates as BP/Amoco. In May 2008, however, the Amoco name was mostly phased out in favor of "BP Gasoline with Invigorate", promoting BP's new additive. The highest grade of BP gasoline available in the United States is still called Amoco Ultimate, however. In 2000, British Petroleum acquired Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co.)^[24] and Burmah Castrol plc.^[25]

Chief Scientist of BP, 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. Their intention was to sell the new company possibly via an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the US, and in fact they filed their IPO plans for Innovene with the New York Stock Exchange on 12 September 2005. However, on 7 October 2005, BP announced that they had agreed to sell Innovene to INEOS, a privately held UK chemical company for the sum of $9 billion, thereby scrapping their plans for the IPO.^[26]

On 23 March 2005, an explosion occurred at BP's Texas City Refinery in Texas City, Texas. It is the third largest refinery in the United States and one of the largest in the world, processing 433,000 barrels (68,800 m³) of crude oil per day and accounting for 3% of that nation's gasoline supply. Over 100 were injured, and 15 were confirmed dead, including employees of the Fluor Corporation as well as BP. BP has since accepted that its mismanagement contributed to the accident. Level indicators failed, leading to overfilling of a heater, and light hydrocarbons spread throughout the area. An unidentified ignition source set off the explosion. ^[27]

In 2005, BP announced it would be leaving the Colorado market.^[28] Many locations were rebranded as Conoco.^[29]

According to some private BP-branded gasoline center operators in the Metro Atlanta area, BP plans to leave the Southern market in the next few years. All corporate-owned BP stations, typically known as "BP Connect" will be sold to local jobbers.^[30]

In March 2006, a leak in one of BP's pipelines on the North Slope of Alaska caused a spill of oil onto the tundra, leading BP to commit to replace over 16 miles (26 km) of federally regulated Oil Transit Lines (OTLs). As of the end of 2007, one half of the pipeline had been replaced and all 16 miles (26 km) of pipeline are now tested regularly. ^[31]

BP has recently looked to grow its oil exploration activities in frontier areas like the former Soviet Union for its future reserves.^[32] 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.^[33]

On July 19, 2006, BP announced that it would close the last 12 out of 57 oil wells in Alaska, mostly in Prudhoe Bay, that had been leaking. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of crude oil and diesel fuel, between the wells and ice.^[34]

On 12 January 2007, it was announced that Lord Browne would retire at the end of July 2007.^[35] The new Chief Executive will be the current head of exploration and production, Tony Hayward. 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.^[36]

Governance

The Board Members are:^[37]

• Peter Sutherland, KCMG – Chairman of BP, board of Goldman Sachs
• Sir Ian Prosser – Non-executive director
• Byron Grote – Chief Financial Officer
• Andy Inglis – Chief executive, Exploration and Production
• Antony Burgmans – Non-executive director, board of Mauritshuis, AEGON, Unilever
• Cynthia Carroll – Non-executive director, CEO of Anglo American, also board of De Beers
• Sir William Castell – Non-executive director chairman of The Prince’s Trust
• George David – Non-executive director
• Tony Hayward – CEO/MD BP Worldwide
• Ian Conn
• George David vice-chairman of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
• Erroll Davis, board of General Motors and Union Pacific.
• Douglas J Flint, CBE director HSBC
• Dr DeAnne Julius, director of Chatham House

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'

Corporate controversies

August 2006 Prudhoe Bay Shutdown

Solar panel made by BP Solar

In August, 2006, BP shut down oil operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in pipelines leading up to the Alaska Pipeline. BP had spilled over one million litres of oil in Alaska's North Slope.^[38] 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 October 2, 2006.^[39] 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. ^[40]

October 2007 Prudhoe Bay spill

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.^[41]

November 2008 BP Supports USA over UK

BP has dumped its plans to build out wind farms and other renewable projects in Britain for projects in the United States. The US government incentives for clean energy projects provide convenient tax shelter for oil and gas revenues, something BP is looking for with an estimated $8 billion earmarked for the initiative. Lower economies of scale made the UK wind sector far less attractive than that of the US.^[42]

Canadian oil sands

BP are one of numerous firms who are extracting oil from Canadian oil sands, a process that produces four times as much CO2 as conventional drilling, as well as having a devastating effect on the local environment and communities^[43]. The Cree aboriginal group describe BP as being complicit in 'the biggest environmental crime on the planet' ^[44].

Environmental record

In 2005 BP was considering testing carbon sequestration in one of its North Sea oil fields, by pumping carbon dioxide into them (and thereby also increasing yields).^[45] In 2004, BP began marketing low-sulfur diesel fuel for industrial use. BP intends to create a network of hydrogen fueling stations in the state of California. 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.

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.^[46][47] In 1991 BP was cited as the most polluting company in the US based on EPA toxic release data. Since branding itself an environmentally sound corporation in 1997, 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.^[48] According to PIRG research, between January 1997 and March 1998, BP was responsible for 104 oil spills.^[49] BP patented the Dracone Barge to aid in oil spill clean-ups across the world. ^[50]

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.

BP/Amoco was a member of the Global Climate Coalition an industry organization established to promote global warming skepticism 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.".^[51]

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."^[52]

British Petroleum 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.^[53][54]

BP was one nominee for the 2009 Greenwash Awards, on companies trying to look green and failing.^[55]

Texas City Refinery disaster

Main article: Texas City Refinery (BP)

One of BP's largest refineries in the USA exploded in 2005 causing 15 deaths. 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. It was preceded by the Baker report and BP's own internal investigation.^[56]

A large column filled with hydrocarbon overflowed to form a vapor 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.^[56]

On October 30, 2009 the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed an $87 million fine on the company for failing to correct safety hazards revealed in the 2005 explosion. The fine was the largest in OSHA's history.^[57]

Corporate Challenges

BP's image has been tarnished somewhat by its involvement with the controversial Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, criticized for human rights abuses, environmental and safety concerns.^[58]

BP has also been criticized for the increase in fuel prices in the UK. On 25 April 2005 Lord Browne stated in an interview with the BBC that he fully expected petrol prices to stay above £1 per litre.^[59]

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. ^[60]

BP "Helios" fueling station in Los Angeles

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"^[61] has recently come under attack, over concerns about the global impacts of the research and privatization of public universities.^[62]

In March 2007, BP unveiled its Helios fuel station on Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles.^[63] The station has radical architecture for a fuel station, and is a "living lab" for green technologies.^[64] However, although there are solar panels on the roof, as of July 2007 they are not yet operational.^[65]

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.^[66]

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.^[67] 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.^[68]

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."^[69]

BP retail brands

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

BP

BP is one of the world's shortest and most valuable brands. The Helios Logo (Helios was the name of the Greek sun god), represents energy in its many forms. The value of the brand is enhanced by the fact that the company owns the two letter internet domain bp.com. The company management was ahead of the internet age registering the domain in 1989 (Nov 10 1989), years before internet became popular. Only very few large corporations are in the VB.com Internet Hall of Fame and own their acronym as two letter domain name.^[70]

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.

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 AtlanticRichfieldCompany) in 2000. ARCO is a popular "cash only" retailer, selling products refined from Alaska North Slope crude at plants at Cherry Point (WA), Los Angeles (CA) and at other contract locations on the West Coast.

BP Travel Centre

BP Travel Centers 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 foodcourt. 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 center 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.

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 sites mainly independently owned sites. Products vary in each BP Shop but usually 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

Advertisement

The recent BP advertising campaign has been criticized by many as a superficial and stereotypical representation of the common man. Often the ads showcase a series of "man-on-the-street" type questionnaires in which obviously paid actors answer certain questions pertaining to BP. However, the music composed by BP for the purpose of the ads has been praised and lauded.^{[citation needed]}

BP was also recently 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.[4]

BP is a sponsor of the Scripps Institution CO2 program to measure carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. [5]

Bibliography

• The history of the British Petroleum Company
  • Vol. I:R.W.Ferrier, The Developing Years 1901-1932, Cambridge University Press, 1982
  • Vol. II: James H. Bamberg, The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954, Cambridge University Press, 1994
  • Vol. III: James H. Bamberg, British Petroleum and Global Oil, 1951-1975: The Challenge of Nationalism, Cambridge University Press, 2000

For the early history of BP in Iran and Iraq see

Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Brysac. Kingmakers: the Invention of the Modern Middle East. W.W. Norton (2008)ISBN 978-0-393-06199-4

See also

• 2006 Alaskan oil spill
• Oil fields operated by BP
• Shell-Mex and BP
• Shilling Guides, a series of guide booklets on the counties of Great Britain
• BP Solar
• Hemel Hempstead, BP's IT&S Division
• BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

Notes

1. ^ "Contact BP in the United Kingdom." BP. Retrieved on 18 August 2009.
2. ^ "Maps." City of Westminster. Retrieved on 28 August 2009.
3. ^ It's about time oil started defending itself
4. ^ ^{a b c} Australian Dictionary of Biography
5. ^ http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/the-greatest-20th-century-beneficiary-of-popular-mythology-has-been-the-cad-churchill-1876680.html
6. ^ Yousof Mazandi, United Press, and Edwin Muller, Government by Assassination (Reader's Digest September 1951)
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ ^{a b} http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/The-British-Petroleum-Company-plc-Company-History.html
9. ^ Sztucki, Jerzy (1984). Interim measures in the Hague Court. Brill Archive. pp. 43. ISBN 9789065440938. http://books.google.com/books?id=3yDlnBv6Y8cC&lpg=PA43&ots=3VRY_7MGuX&dq=AIOC%20hague%20iran&pg=PA43. 
10. ^ ^{a b} [2]
11. ^ New York Times article, 1953
12. ^ Kinzer, All the Shah's Men, (2003), p.195–6
13. ^ Background to Confrontation
14. ^ Natural Gas and Alaska's Future: The Facts page 22
15. ^ BP dossier
16. ^ ^{a b} Sohio timeline
17. ^ TNK appoints Sir Peter Walters
18. ^ Privitisation
19. ^ Kuwait has 10% of BP
20. ^ Britain drops a barrier to BP bid
21. ^ Organising for performance: how BP did it
22. ^ Royal Academy of Engineering
23. ^ BP and Amoco in oil mega-merger
24. ^ BP strikes it rich in America
25. ^ BP Amoco to buy Burmah Castrol
26. ^ BP sells chemical unit for £5bn
27. ^ Errors led to BP refinery blast
28. ^ BP puts 100 gas stations up for sale in Colorado.(British Petroleum Company PLC)
29. ^ Gas station signs of change
30. ^ BP to Sell Most Company-Owned, Company-Operated Convenience Stores to Franchisees
31. ^ Oil Gushes into Arctic Ocean from BP Pipeline
32. ^ "Penny Shares Online: BP(BP.)". 2006-07-10. http://www.pennysharesonline.com/company/B/BP-BP..asp. Retrieved 2006-07-10. 
33. ^ "BP Set to Leave Russia Gas Project" by Guy Chazan and Gregory White, Wall Street Journal, 2007-06-22 p. A3.
34. ^ Mark Tran (2006-07-19). "BP shuts leaking Alaskan wells". "Guardian Unlimited". http://money.guardian.co.uk/businessnews/article/0,,1824145,00.html. 
35. ^ BP CEO set to retire
36. ^ BP's Browne quits over lie
37. ^ BP: The Board
38. ^ Alaska Oil Spill Fuels Concerns Over Arctic Wildlife, Future Drilling
39. ^ "Alaska Update". BP. 2 October 2006. http://usresponse.bp.com/go/doc/1249/132386/. 
40. ^ BP accused of 'draconian' cost cuts prior to Alaskan pipeline spill
41. ^ Methanol and crude spill from Prudhoe Bay pipeline
42. ^ BP (LON:BP) report - Concentrating on operational efficiencies and production
43. ^ The tactics of these rogue climate elements must not succeed
44. ^ Cree aboriginal group to join London climate camp protest over tar sands
45. ^ Seabed supplies a cure for global warming crisis
46. ^ Ten Worst Corporations of 2000
47. ^ The 10 Worst Corporations of 2005
48. ^ bp: Beyond Petroleum?
49. ^ SaveTheArctic.com
50. ^ GB patent application 1435945, "Oil Clean-Up Method", published 1976-05-12  
51. ^ "Global Climate Coalition". Sourcewatch. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Global_Climate_Coalition. 
52. ^ How green is BP?
53. ^ George Monbiot: Behind the spin, the oil giants are more dangerous than ever | Comment is free | The Guardian
54. ^ Edinburgh Evening News
55. ^ [3]
56. ^ ^{a b} Baker Panel Report
57. ^ Associated Press, "BP fined record $87 million for safety breaches", October 31, 2009.
58. ^ The Baku Ceyhan Pipeline: BP's Time Bomb
59. ^ UK petrol could top £1 a litre
60. ^ BP pays out millions to Colombian farmers
61. ^ Energy Biosciences Institute - Main Home
62. ^ Stop BP-Berkeley
63. ^ About the station | The greencurve
64. ^ 'Green' BP Station Still Pumps Gas : NPR
65. ^ BP unveils green gas station : Business News : Redding Record Searchlight
66. ^ Citizens concerned about project
67. ^ "BP". The Center For Responsive Politics. http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000091&Name=BP. 
68. ^ "BP". The Center for Responsive Politics. http://opensecrets.org/lobbyists/clientsum.asp?year=2007&txtname=BP. 
69. ^ BP stops paying political parties
70. ^ VB.com Internet Hall of Fame - List of large corporations that own a Two Letter .com Domain

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: BP

• BP Company Website
• BP's Corporate History
• BP Solar
• BP Whiting Refinery Information
• Company Details
• BP Accident Investigation Report
• Baker Panel Report
• Herald Tribune report on sudden resignation of Lord Browne
• Statistical Review of World Energy

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