BP plc (ранее The British Petroleum Company plc и BP Amoco plc ; стилизовано под строчные буквы) — британская многонациональная нефтегазовая компания со штаб -квартирой в Лондоне , Англия. Является одним из « супермейджеров » нефтегазовой отрасли и одной из крупнейших компаний мира по объёму выручки и прибыли. [3] Это вертикально интегрированная компания, работающая во всех областях нефтегазовой промышленности, включая разведку и добычу , переработку , распределение и маркетинг , производство электроэнергии и торговлю .
Истоки BP восходят к основанию Anglo-Persian Oil Company в 1909 году, созданной как дочерняя компания Burmah Oil Company для разработки нефтяных месторождений в Иране . В 1935 году она стала Anglo-Iranian Oil Company , а в 1954 году приняла название British Petroleum . [4] [5] BP приобрела контрольный пакет акций Standard Oil of Ohio в 1978 году. Ранее контрольный пакет акций компании принадлежал государству, но британское правительство поэтапно приватизировало ее в период с 1979 по 1987 год. BP объединилась с Amoco в 1998 году, став BP Amoco plc , и вскоре после этого приобрела ARCO , Burmah Castrol и Aral AG . Название компании было сокращено до BP plc в 2001 году.
По состоянию на 2018 год [update]BP осуществляла операции почти в 80 странах, добывала около 3,7 млн баррелей в день (590 000 м 3 /д) нефтяного эквивалента и имела общие доказанные запасы в размере 19,945 млрд баррелей (3,1710 × 10 9 м 3 ) нефтяного эквивалента. [6] У компании около 18 700 заправочных станций по всему миру, [6] которые она эксплуатирует под брендом BP (по всему миру), а также под брендом Amoco (в США) и брендом Aral (в Германии). [7] Ее крупнейшее подразделение — BP America в Соединенных Штатах. BP является четвертой по величине нефтяной компанией, принадлежащей инвесторам, в мире по выручке за 2021 год (после ExxonMobil , Shell и TotalEnergies ). [8] По состоянию на 2022 год рыночная капитализация BP составляла 98,36 млрд долларов США, что ставит компанию на 122-е место в мире, [9] [10] а ее рейтинг Fortune Global 500 в 2022 году был 35-м с выручкой в 164,2 млрд долларов США. [11] Основной листинг акций компании проходит на Лондонской фондовой бирже , где она входит в индекс FTSE 100 .
С 1988 по 2015 год BP отвечала за 1,53% мировых промышленных выбросов парниковых газов [12] и была напрямую вовлечена в несколько крупных экологических и производственных инцидентов. Среди них были взрыв на НПЗ в Техас-Сити в 2005 году , в результате которого погибли 15 рабочих и который привел к рекордному штрафу OSHA ; крупнейший разлив нефти в Великобритании, крушение Torrey Canyon в 1967 году; и разлив нефти в заливе Прадхо в 2006 году , крупнейший разлив нефти на Северном склоне Аляски , который привел к гражданскому штрафу в размере 25 миллионов долларов США, самому большому штрафу за разлив нефти на тот момент. [13] Самой страшной экологической катастрофой для BP стал разлив нефти Deepwater Horizon в 2010 году , крупнейший случайный выброс нефти в морские воды в истории, в результате которого вытекло около 4,9 млн баррелей (210 млн галлонов США; 780 000 м3 ) нефти, [14] что привело к серьезным экологическим, человеческим и экономическим последствиям [15] и серьезным юридическим и общественным последствиям для BP, что обошлось компании в более чем 4,5 млрд долларов в виде штрафов и пеней, а также в 18,7 млрд долларов в виде штрафов, связанных с Законом о чистой воде, и других исков, что стало крупнейшим уголовным решением в истории США. [16] [17] [18] [19] В целом разлив нефти обошелся компании более чем в 65 млрд долларов. [20] [21]
В мае 1908 года группа британских геологов обнаружила большое количество нефти в Масджед Солейман , расположенном в провинции Хузестан на юго-западе Персии ( Иран ). Это была первая коммерчески значимая находка нефти на Ближнем Востоке . Уильям Нокс Д'Арси по контракту с Али-Коли Хан Бахтиари получил разрешение на разведку нефти впервые на Ближнем Востоке, [22] событие, которое изменило историю всего региона. Открытие нефти привело к развитию нефтехимической промышленности , а также созданию отраслей, которые сильно зависели от нефти. 14 апреля 1909 года Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) была зарегистрирована как дочерняя компания Burmah Oil Company . Часть акций была продана публике. [23] Первым председателем и миноритарным акционером компании стал лорд Страткона . [24]
Сразу после основания компании британское правительство попросило Перси Кокса , британского резидента в Бушере , заключить соглашение с шейхом Хазалем ибн Джабиром из Арабистана о том, чтобы APOC получила участок на острове Абадан для нефтеперерабатывающего завода , склада, резервуаров для хранения и других операций. Нефтеперерабатывающий завод был построен и начал работать в 1912 году. [22] В 1914 году британское правительство приобрело контрольный пакет акций (50,0025%) в компании по настоянию Уинстона Черчилля , тогдашнего Первого лорда Адмиралтейства , и британский флот быстро перешел с угля на нефть для большинства своих военных кораблей. [24] [25] [26] APOC также подписала 30-летний контракт с британским Адмиралтейством на поставку нефти для Королевского флота по фиксированной цене. [27] В 1915 году APOC основала свою дочернюю судоходную компанию British Tanker Company , а в 1916 году она приобрела British Petroleum Company, которая была маркетинговым подразделением немецкого Europäische Petroleum Union в Великобритании. [24] В 1919 году компания стала производителем сланцевого масла , основав дочернюю компанию Scottish Oils, которая объединила оставшиеся шотландские сланцевые отрасли . [28] [29] [30] [31]
После Первой мировой войны APOC начала продавать свою продукцию в континентальной Европе и приобрела доли в местных маркетинговых компаниях в нескольких европейских странах. Нефтеперерабатывающие заводы были построены в Лландарси в Уэльсе (первый нефтеперерабатывающий завод в Соединенном Королевстве) и Грейнджмуте в Шотландии. Она также приобрела контрольный пакет акций нефтеперерабатывающего завода Courchelettes во Франции и сформировала совместно с правительством Австралии партнерство под названием Commonwealth Oil Refineries , которое построило первый австралийский нефтеперерабатывающий завод в Лавертоне, штат Виктория . [24] В 1923 году Burmah наняла Уинстона Черчилля в качестве оплачиваемого консультанта для лоббирования в британском правительстве права на эксклюзивные права на персидские нефтяные ресурсы, которые впоследствии были предоставлены иранской монархией. [32]
APOC и армянский бизнесмен Галуст Гюльбенкян были движущими силами создания Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC) в 1912 году для разведки нефти в Месопотамии (ныне Ирак); и к 1914 году APOC владела 50% акций TPC. [33] В 1925 году TPC получила концессию на нефтяные ресурсы Месопотамии от иракского правительства по британскому мандату. TPC наконец нашла нефть в Ираке 14 октября 1927 года. К 1928 году доля APOC в TPC, которая к тому времени называлась Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), была сокращена до 23,75%; в результате изменившейся геополитики после распада Османской империи и Соглашения о Красной линии . [34] Отношения между прозападной Хашимитской монархией (1932–58) в Ираке и IPC были в целом сердечными, несмотря на споры, сосредоточенные на желании Ирака большего участия и большего количества роялти. В период 1928–68 годов IPC монополизировала разведку нефти внутри Красной линии ; исключая Саудовскую Аравию и Бахрейн. [35] [36]
В 1927 году Burmah Oil и Royal Dutch Shell создали совместную маркетинговую компанию Burmah-Shell . В 1928 году APOC и Shell создали Consolidated Petroleum Company для продажи и маркетинга на Кипре, в Южной Африке и на Цейлоне, за которой в 1932 году последовала совместная маркетинговая компания Shell-Mex и BP в Соединенном Королевстве. [26] [37] В 1937 году AIOC и Shell создали партнерство Shell/D'Arcy Exploration Partners для разведки нефти в Нигерии . Партнерство в равной степени принадлежало Shell, но управлялось ею. Позднее оно было заменено Shell-D'Arcy Petroleum Development Company и Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company (теперь Shell Petroleum Development Company ). [38]
В 1934 году APOC и Gulf Oil основали Kuwait Oil Company как равноправное партнерство. Права концессии на добычу нефти были предоставлены компании 23 декабря 1934 года, и компания начала буровые работы в 1936 году. [39] [40] В 1935 году Реза-шах обратился к международному сообществу с просьбой называть Персию « Ираном », что нашло отражение в изменении названия APOC на Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). [41]
В 1937 году Iraq Petroleum Company , 23,75% которой принадлежало BP, [42] подписала соглашение о концессии на добычу нефти с султаном Маската, которое охватывает весь регион султаната, который фактически ограничивался прибрежной зоной современного Омана. После нескольких лет неудач в поисках нефти в регионе султаната, IPC предположила, что нефть с большей вероятностью можно найти во внутреннем регионе Омана, который был частью имамата Омана. IPC предложила финансовую поддержку для создания вооруженных сил, которые помогли бы султанату занять внутренний регион Омана. Позже, в 1954 году, султан Маската, поддерживаемый британским правительством и финансовой помощью, которую он получил от IPC, начал оккупировать регионы внутри Омана, что привело к началу войны Джебель-Ахдар , которая длилась более 5 лет. [43]
В 1947 году British Petroleum Chemicals была зарегистрирована как совместное предприятие AIOC и The Distillers Company . В 1956 году компания была переименована в British Hydrocarbon Chemicals. [44]
После Второй мировой войны на Ближнем Востоке усилились националистические настроения; наиболее заметными из них были иранский национализм и арабский национализм . В Иране AIOC и прозападное иранское правительство во главе с премьер-министром Али Размарой сопротивлялись националистическим призывам пересмотреть условия концессии AIOC в пользу Ирана. В марте 1951 года Размара был убит, а националист Мохаммед Моссадык был избран новым премьер-министром Меджлисом Ирана (парламентом). [45] В апреле 1951 года иранское правительство единогласным голосованием национализировало иранскую нефтяную промышленность, и была образована Национальная иранская нефтяная компания (NIOC), заменившая AIOC. [46] [47] AIOC отозвала свое управление из Ирана, и Великобритания организовала эффективное всемирное эмбарго на иранскую нефть. Британское правительство, которому принадлежала AIOC, оспаривало национализацию в Международном суде в Гааге , но его жалоба была отклонена. [48]
Премьер-министр Черчилль обратился к президенту Эйзенхауэру с просьбой о помощи в свержении Моссадыка. План по борьбе с Моссадыком был организован под кодовым названием « Операция Аякс » ЦРУ и «Операция Boot» СИС (МИ-6). ЦРУ и британцы помогли организовать переворот в августе 1953 года, иранский государственный переворот 1953 года , в результате которого прозападный генерал Фазлолла Захеди стал новым премьер-министром, и значительно усилил политическую власть шаха Мохаммеда Резы Пехлеви . AIOC смогла вернуться в Иран. [49]
В 1954 году AIOC стала British Petroleum Company. После иранского переворота 1953 года в октябре 1954 года в Лондоне была основана холдинговая компания Iranian Oil Participants Ltd (IOP) для возвращения иранской нефти на международный рынок. [50] [51] British Petroleum была одним из основателей этой компании с 40% акций. [45] [50] IOP управляла и эксплуатировала нефтяные объекты в Иране от имени NIOC. [50] [51] Подобно соглашению «50/50» между Saudi-Aramco от 1950 года , [52] консорциум согласился делиться прибылью с Ираном в соотношении 50/50, «но не раскрывать свои книги иранским аудиторам или не допускать иранцев в свой совет директоров». [53]
В 1953 году British Petroleum вышла на канадский рынок, купив миноритарный пакет акций Triad Oil Company, базирующейся в Калгари, и расширилась далее на Аляску в 1959 году, что привело к открытию нефти в заливе Прудхо в 1969 году . [26] [54] В 1956 году ее дочерняя компания D'Arcy Exploration Co. (Africa) Ltd. получила четыре нефтяные концессии в Ливии . [55] В 1962 году Scottish Oils прекратила добычу сланца . [31] В 1965 году она стала первой компанией, добывшей нефть в Северном море . [56] В 1969 году BP вышла на рынок Соединенных Штатов, приобретя нефтеперерабатывающие и сбытовые активы Sinclair Oil Corporation на Восточном побережье . [57] Канадская холдинговая компания British Petroleum была переименована в BP Canada в 1969 году; и в 1971 году она приобрела 97,8% акций Supertest Petroleum . [58]
К 1960-м годам British Petroleum приобрела репутацию компании, которая берется за самые рискованные предприятия. Это принесло компании огромную прибыль; это также принесло ей худшую репутацию в отрасли по безопасности. В 1967 году гигантский нефтяной танкер Torrey Canyon затонул у побережья Англии. Более 32 миллионов галлонов США (760 000 баррелей; 120 000 м 3 ) сырой нефти вылилось в Атлантику и на пляжи Корнуолла и Бретани, что привело к крупнейшему в истории Великобритании разливу нефти . [59] Судно принадлежало базирующейся на Багамах компании Barracuda Tanker Corporation и плавало под флагом Либерии , известным удобным флагом , но было зафрахтовано British Petroleum. [59] Судно подверглось бомбардировке реактивными бомбардировщиками Королевских ВВС в попытке разбить судно и сжечь вытекающую нефть, но это не смогло уничтожить нефтяное пятно. [60]
В 1967 году BP приобрела химические и пластмассовые активы The Distillers Company, которые были объединены с British Hydrocarbon Chemicals, образовав BP Chemicals. [61]
Нефтяные активы компании были национализированы в Ливии в 1971 году, в Кувейте в 1975 году и в Нигерии в 1979 году. [40] [47] [62] В Ираке IPC прекратила свою деятельность после того, как была национализирована баасистским иракским правительством в июне 1972 года, хотя юридически Iraq Petroleum Company все еще существует, но как бездействующая компания, [63] и одна из ее связанных компаний — Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC), ранее Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd — также продолжает свою деятельность с нетронутым первоначальным пакетом акций. [64] [65]
Усиление борьбы за власть между нефтяными компаниями и правительствами стран-хозяев на Ближнем Востоке, а также шоки цен на нефть, последовавшие за нефтяным кризисом 1973 года , привели к тому, что British Petroleum потеряла большую часть своего прямого доступа к поставкам сырой нефти, добываемой в странах, входящих в Организацию стран-экспортеров нефти ( ОПЕК ), и побудили ее диверсифицировать свою деятельность за пределы сильно зависимой от Ближнего Востока добычи нефти. В 1976 году BP и Shell разделили свои маркетинговые операции в Соединенном Королевстве, разделив Shell-Mex и BP. В 1978 году компания приобрела контрольный пакет акций Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio). [66]
В Иране British Petroleum продолжала работать вплоть до Исламской революции 1979 года. Новый режим аятоллы Хомейни национализировал все активы компании в Иране без какой-либо компенсации: в результате BP потеряла 40% своих мировых поставок сырой нефти. [67]
В 1970–1980-х годах BP диверсифицировала свой бизнес, включив в него угольный , минеральный и пищевой бизнес, который впоследствии был продан. [26]
Британское правительство продало 80 миллионов акций BP по $7,58 в 1979 году в рамках приватизации эпохи Тэтчер . Эта продажа составила чуть более 5% от общего числа акций BP и сократила долю правительства в компании до 46%. [68] 19 октября 1987 года премьер-министр Маргарет Тэтчер санкционировала продажу дополнительных 7,5 млрд фунтов стерлингов ($12,2 млрд) акций BP по 333 пенса, что составило оставшиеся 31% акций правительства в компании. [69] [70]
В ноябре 1987 года Kuwait Investment Office приобрел 10,06% акций BP, став крупнейшим институциональным акционером. [71] В мае следующего года KIO приобрел дополнительные акции, доведя свою долю до 21,6%. [72] Это вызвало опасения в BP, что операции в Соединенных Штатах, основной стране операций BP, пострадают. В октябре 1988 года британский Департамент торговли и промышленности потребовал от KIO сократить свои акции до 9,6% в течение 12 месяцев. [73]
Питер Уолтерс был председателем компании с 1981 по 1990 год. [74] За время своего пребывания на посту председателя он сократил нефтеперерабатывающие мощности компании в Европе. [74] В 1982 году активы BP Canada по переработке нефти были проданы Petro Canada . В 1984 году Standard Oil of California была переименована в Chevron Corporation ; она купила Gulf Oil — крупнейшее слияние в истории на тот момент. [75] Чтобы соответствовать антимонопольным нормам, Chevron продала многие из действующих дочерних компаний Gulf и продала некоторые станции Gulf и нефтеперерабатывающий завод на востоке США компаниям British Petroleum и Cumberland Farms в 1985 году. [76] В 1987 году British Petroleum провела переговоры о приобретении Britoil [77] и оставшихся публично торгуемых акций Standard Oil of Ohio. [66] В том же году компания была зарегистрирована на Токийской фондовой бирже , где ее акции торговались до делистинга в 2008 году. [78]
Уолтерса на посту председателя сменил Роберт Хортон в 1990 году. Хортон написал о своем назначении, что он и его старшие коллеги примут ценности, представляющие интересы «всех заинтересованных сторон », включая сотрудников компании, клиентов, акционеров, поставщиков и сообщество». [79] Хортон провел крупное корпоративное сокращение, устранив различные уровни управления в головном офисе. [80] В 1992 году British Petroleum продала свою 57% долю в BP Canada ( добыча нефти и газа ), которая была переименована в Talisman Energy . [81] Джон Браун , который присоединился к BP в 1966 году и поднялся по служебной лестнице, чтобы войти в совет директоров в качестве управляющего директора в 1991 году, был назначен главным исполнительным директором группы в 1995 году. [82 ]
В 1981 году British Petroleum вошла в сектор солнечных технологий, приобретя 50% Lucas Energy Systems, компании, которая стала Lucas BP Solar Systems, а позже BP Solar . Компания была производителем и установщиком фотоэлектрических солнечных элементов . Она стала полностью принадлежать British Petroleum в середине 1980-х годов. [83]
British Petroleum вышла на российский рынок в 1990 году и открыла свою первую заправочную станцию в Москве в 1996 году. [84] В 1997 году она приобрела 10% акций за 571 миллион долларов в российской нефтяной компании Сиданко , которая позже стала частью ТНК-BP. [85] [84] Сиданко управлялась российским олигархом Владимиром Потаниным , который получил Сиданко через спорную схему приватизации с залогом акций . [84] В 2003 году BP инвестировала 8 миллиардов долларов в совместное предприятие с ТНК российского олигарха Михаила Фридмана . [84]
В 1992 году компания вышла на азербайджанский рынок. В 1994 году она подписала соглашение о разделе продукции по нефтяному проекту Азери-Чираг-Гюнешли , а в 1995 году — по разработке газового месторождения Шах-Дениз . [86]
Под руководством Джона Брауна British Petroleum приобрела другие нефтяные компании, превратив BP в третью по величине нефтяную компанию в мире. British Petroleum объединилась с Amoco (ранее Standard Oil of Indiana) в декабре 1998 года, став BP Amoco plc. [87] [88] Большинство заправок Amoco в США были преобразованы в бренд и фирменный стиль BP. В 2000 году BP Amoco приобрела Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) и Burmah Castrol . [89] [90] [91] [92] Вместе с приобретением ARCO в 2000 году BP стала владельцем 33,5% акций Olympic Pipeline. Позже в том же году BP стала оператором трубопровода и увеличила свою долю до 62,5%. [93] [94]
В рамках повышения узнаваемости бренда в результате слияния компания помогла галерее британского искусства Tate Modern запустить выставку RePresenting Britain 1500–2000 . [95] В 2001 году в ответ на негативную прессу о низких стандартах безопасности British Petroleum компания приняла логотип с зелеными лучами солнца и провела ребрендинг на BP («Beyond Petroleum») plc. [88]
В начале 2000-х годов BP стала ведущим партнером (а позднее и оператором) проекта трубопровода Баку-Тбилиси-Джейхан , который открыл новый маршрут транспортировки нефти из Каспийского региона. [96] В 2002 году BP приобрела большую часть Veba Öl AG, дочерней компании VEBA AG , и впоследствии переименовала свои существующие станции в Германии в Aral . [97] В рамках сделки BP также приобрела долю Veba Öl в совместном предприятии Ruhr Öl. Ruhr Öl была распущена в 2016 году. [98]
1 сентября 2003 года BP и группа российских миллиардеров, известная как AAR ( Alfa - Access - Renova ), объявили о создании стратегического партнерства для совместного владения нефтяными активами в России и Украине. В результате была создана ТНК-ВР. [99]
В 2004 году бизнес BP по производству олефинов и их производных был выделен в отдельную компанию, которая в 2005 году была продана компании Ineos . [100] [101] В 2007 году компания BP продала свои корпоративные магазины шаговой доступности, обычно известные как « BP Connect », местным франчайзи и посредникам . [102]
23 марта 2005 года 15 рабочих погибли и более 170 получили ранения в результате взрыва на НПЗ в Техас-Сити . Чтобы сэкономить деньги, были отложены основные модернизации НПЗ 1934 года. [103] Браун пообещал предотвратить еще одну катастрофу. Три месяца спустя « Thunder Horse PDQ », гигантская новая производственная платформа BP в Мексиканском заливе, едва не затонула во время урагана. В спешке закончить платформу стоимостью 1 миллиард долларов рабочие установили клапан наоборот, что позволило затопить балластные цистерны. Инспекции выявили и другие некачественные работы. Ремонт стоимостью в сотни миллионов вывел бы Thunder Horse из эксплуатации на три года. [103]
Лорд Браун ушел из BP 1 мая 2007 года. Глава отдела разведки и добычи Тони Хейворд стал новым генеральным директором. [104] В 2009 году Хейворд сместил акцент с акцента лорда Брауна на альтернативную энергетику, заявив, что отныне безопасность будет «приоритетом номер один» компании. [105]
В 2007 году BP создала совместное предприятие Vivergo Fuels с AB Sugar и DuPont , которое открыло завод по производству биоэтанола в Солтенде недалеко от Халла , Великобритания, в декабре 2012 года. [106] Вместе с DuPont BP создала совместное предприятие по производству биобутанола Butamax, приобретя в 2009 году компанию по производству биобутана Biobutanol LLC. [107]
В 2009 году BP получила контракт на разработку сверхгигантского месторождения Румайла с партнером по совместному предприятию CNPC . [108] [109]
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В январе 2010 года Карл-Хенрик Сванберг стал председателем совета директоров BP. [110]
20 апреля 2010 года произошел разлив нефти на нефтяной платформе Deepwater Horizon , крупная промышленная авария. [14] Впоследствии Боб Дадли сменил Тони Хейворда на посту генерального директора компании, занимая эту должность с октября 2010 года по февраль 2020 года. [111] [112] BP объявила о программе продажи непрофильных активов на сумму около 38 миллиардов долларов для компенсации своих обязательств, связанных с аварией. [113] [114] В июле 2010 года BP продала свои газовые активы в Альберте и Британской Колумбии , Канада, корпорации Apache . [115] Она продала свою долю в месторождениях Petroperijá и Boquerón в Венесуэле и в месторождениях Lan Tay и Lan Do, трубопровод и терминал Nam Con Son, а также электростанцию Phu My 3 во Вьетнаме компании TNK-BP, [116] [117] заправочные станции и предприятия по поставкам в Намибии, Ботсване, Замбии, Танзании и Малави компании Puma Energy , [118] наземное нефтяное месторождение Wytch Farm в Дорсете и пакет газовых активов в Северном море компании Perenco , [119] бизнес по производству сжиженного природного газа в Канаде компании Plains All American Pipeline LP , [120] газовые активы в Канзасе компании Linn Energy , [121] НПЗ Carson в Южной Калифорнии и его розничную сеть ARCO газоперерабатывающим заводам Tesoro , Sunray и Hemphill в Техасе вместе с их сопутствующей системой сбора газа компании Eagle Rock Energy Partners, [122] [123] [124] НПЗ в Техасе и связанные с ним активы компании Marathon Petroleum , [125] [126] месторождения Marlin, Dorado, King, Horn Mountain и Holstein в Мексиканском заливе, а также доля в неэксплуатируемых месторождениях Diana Hoover и Ram Powell компании Plains Exploration & Production , [113] неэксплуатируемая доля в нефтяном месторождении Draugen компании Norske Shell , [127] и британский бизнес по распределению сжиженного нефтяного газа компании DCC. [128] В ноябре 2012 года правительство США временно запретило BP участвовать в торгах по любым новым федеральным контрактам. Запрет был условно снят в марте 2014 года. [129]
В феврале 2011 года BP сформировала партнерство с Reliance Industries , получив 30% акций в новом индийском совместном предприятии за первоначальный взнос в размере 7,2 млрд долларов США. [130] В сентябре 2012 года BP продала свою дочернюю компанию BP Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., оператора завода по производству очищенной терефталевой кислоты (PTA) в Куантане в Малайзии, компании Reliance Industries за 230 млн долларов США. [131] В октябре 2012 года BP продала свою долю в ТНК-BP компании «Роснефть» за 12,3 млрд долларов США наличными и 18,5% акций «Роснефти». [132] [133] Сделка была завершена 21 марта 2013 года. [134] В 2012 году BP приобрела участок в сланцевом месторождении Ютика, но эти планы по разработке были отменены в 2014 году. [135]
В 2011–2015 годах BP сократила свой бизнес в сфере альтернативной энергетики. Компания объявила о своем уходе с рынка солнечной энергетики в декабре 2011 года, закрыв свой бизнес в сфере солнечной энергетики BP Solar. [136] В 2012 году BP закрыла проект BP Biofuels Highlands , который разрабатывался с 2008 года для производства целлюлозного этанола из новых энергетических культур, таких как просо , и из биомассы . [137] [138] В 2015 году BP решила выйти из других видов бизнеса по производству лигноцеллюлозного этанола . [139] Она продала свою долю в Vivergo компании Associated British Foods . [140] BP и DuPont также законсервировали свой совместный пилотный завод по производству биобутанола в Солтенде. [141]
В июне 2014 года BP согласилась на сделку стоимостью около 20 миллиардов долларов на поставку CNOOC сжиженного природного газа. [142] В 2014 году Statoil Fuel & Retail продала свой бизнес по производству авиационного топлива компании BP. Чтобы получить одобрение антимонопольных органов, BP согласилась продать бывшие бизнесы Statoil по производству авиационного топлива в аэропортах Копенгагена , Стокгольма , Гетеборга и Мальмё компании World Fuel Services в 2015 году. [143]
В 2016 году BP продала свой завод в городе Декейтер, штат Алабама , компании Indorama Ventures из Таиланда . [144] В том же году ее норвежская дочерняя компания BP Norge объединилась с Det Norske Oljeselskap, образовав Aker BP . [145]
В апреле 2017 года компания достигла соглашения о продаже своей трубопроводной системы Forties в Северном море компании Ineos за 250 миллионов долларов. В сделку вошли терминалы в Далмени и Киннейле, участок в Абердине и платформа Forties Unity. [146] В 2017 году компания выставила на Нью-Йоркской фондовой бирже акции своей дочерней компании BP Midstream Partners LP, оператора трубопроводов в США. В Аргентине BP и Bridas Corporation договорились объединить свои интересы в Pan American Energy и Axion Energy, чтобы сформировать совместную Pan American Energy Group. [147]
В 2017 году BP инвестировала 200 миллионов долларов в приобретение 43% акций разработчика солнечной энергии Lightsource Renewable Energy, компании, которая была переименована в Lightsource BP . [148] [149] В марте 2017 года компания приобрела биометановый бизнес и активы Clean Energy, включая ее производственные площадки и существующие контракты на поставку. [150] В апреле 2017 года ее дочерняя компания Butamax купила компанию по производству изобутанола Nesika Energy. [151]
В 2018 году компания приобрела сланцевые активы BHP в Техасе и Луизиане, включая Petrohawk Energy, за 10,5 млрд долларов, которые были интегрированы с ее дочерней компанией BPX Energy. [ 152] Также в 2018 году BP купила 16,5% акций месторождения Clair в Великобритании у ConocoPhillips , увеличив свою долю до 45,1%. BP заплатила 1,3 млрд фунтов стерлингов и передала ConocoPhillips свою 39,2% неэксплуатируемую долю в нефтяном месторождении Kuparuk River и спутниковых нефтяных месторождениях на Аляске. [153] В декабре 2018 года BP продала свои ветровые активы в Техасе. [154]
В 2018 году BP приобрела Chargemaster , которая управляла крупнейшей в Великобритании сетью зарядки электромобилей. [155] В 2019 году BP и Didi Chuxing создали совместное предприятие для создания инфраструктуры зарядки электромобилей в Китае. В сентябре 2020 года BP объявила, что построит сеть быстрой зарядки в Лондоне для Uber . [156]
В январе 2019 года BP обнаружила 1 миллиард баррелей (160 × 10 6 м 3 ) нефти на своем месторождении Thunder Horse в Мексиканском заливе. Компания также объявила о планах потратить 1,3 миллиарда долларов на третью фазу своего месторождения Atlantis около Нового Орлеана. [157]
Хельге Лунд сменил Карла-Хенрика Сванберга 1 января 2019 года на посту председателя совета директоров BP Plc, [158] а Бернард Луни сменил Боба Дадли 5 февраля 2020 года на посту генерального директора. [159] В условиях пандемии COVID-19 BP заявила, что «ускорит переход к экономике и энергетической системе с низким уровнем выбросов углерода», объявив, что компания должна списать 17,5 млрд долларов за второй квартал 2020 года. [160]
29 июня 2020 года BP продала свое нефтехимическое подразделение компании Ineos за 5 миллиардов долларов. Бизнес был сосредоточен на ароматических соединениях и ацетилах . Компания имела доли в 14 заводах в Азии, Европе и США и достигла производства в 9,7 миллионов метрических тонн в 2019 году. [161] 30 июня 2020 года BP продала все свои операции и интересы по добыче на Аляске, включая интересы в нефтяном месторождении Прудхо-Бей , компании Hilcorp за 5,6 миллиарда долларов. [162] [163] 14 декабря 2020 года она продала свою 49% долю в Трансаляскинской трубопроводной системе компании Harvest Alaska. [164] [165]
В сентябре 2020 года BP заключила партнерство с Equinor для разработки оффшорной ветроэнергетики и объявила, что приобретет 50% неработающей доли в оффшорных ветровых электростанциях Empire Wind у Нью-Йорка и Beacon Wind у Массачусетса. Ожидается, что сделка будет завершена в первой половине 2021 года. [166] В декабре 2020 года BP приобрела контрольный пакет акций Finite Carbon, крупнейшего разработчика лесных углеродных компенсаций в Соединенных Штатах. [167]
В ответ на российское вторжение в Украину в 2022 году BP объявила, что продаст свою долю в 19,75% в «Роснефти», хотя сроки не были объявлены. [168] На момент принятия решения BP деятельность «Роснефти» составляла около половины запасов нефти и газа BP и треть ее добычи. [169] Решение BP было принято после того, как британское правительство выразило обеспокоенность по поводу участия BP в России. [170] [171] Однако BP оставалась акционером «Роснефти» в течение всего 2022 года, что вызвало некоторую критику со стороны офиса президента Украины. [172]
В октябре 2022 года BP объявила о приобретении Archaea Energy Inc., производителя возобновляемого природного газа, за 4,1 млрд долларов США. [173] В декабре 2022 года было объявлено, что BP завершила сделку по приобретению Archaea Energy Inc. за 3,3 млрд долларов США. [174] В ноябре 2022 года компания объявила о значительном увеличении прибыли за период с июля по сентябрь из-за высоких цен на топливо, вызванных российским вторжением в Украину . [175]
В феврале 2023 года BP сообщила о рекордной годовой прибыли на основе восстановительной стоимости за 2022 год. Исходя из этого, прибыль 2022 года была более чем вдвое больше, чем в 2021 году, и это также была самая большая прибыль за всю 114-летнюю историю BP. [176]
После 10 лет форс-мажора компании BP, Eni и Sonatrach возобновили разведку на своих блоках в бассейне Гадамес (AB) и на шельфовом блоке C в августе 2023 года, продолжая выполнять свои контрактные обязательства. [177] [178]
BP увеличила дивиденды на 10% в годовом исчислении в начале 2024 года и ускорила выкуп акций. Компания уже объявила о $1,75 млрд до публикации результатов первого квартала и намерена объявить о выкупе акций на $3,5 млрд в первой половине года. [179]
Мюррей Окинклосс стал генеральным директором в январе 2024 года. [180]
В июне 2024 года BP объявила о приобретении Bunge Bioenergia у Bunge Global за 1,4 млрд долларов США . Покупка увеличит производство этанола BP до 50 000 баррелей в день. [181] [182] [183]
По состоянию на 31 декабря 2018 года [update]BP осуществляла операции в 78 странах мира [6] со штаб-квартирой в Лондоне, Великобритания. Операции BP организованы в три бизнес-сегмента: Upstream , Downstream и renewables . [184]
С 1951 года компания BP ежегодно публикует свой Статистический обзор мировой энергетики , который считается эталоном энергетической отрасли. [185]
У BP есть крупный корпоративный кампус в Санбери-он-Темз , где работают около 3500 сотрудников и размещается более 50 бизнес-подразделений. [186] Штаб-квартира компании в Северном море находится в Абердине , Шотландия . Торговые функции BP базируются по адресу 20 Canada Square в Канари-Уорф , Лондон. У BP есть три крупных научно-исследовательских центра в Великобритании. [187]
По состоянию на 2020 год, после продажи своих долей в Andrew и Shearwater, операции BP были сосредоточены в хабах Clair , Quad 204 и ETAP . [188] В 2011 году компания объявила, что сосредоточит свои инвестиции в британском секторе Северного моря на четырех проектах разработки, включая нефтяные месторождения Clair, Devenick, Schiehallion и Loyal , а также Kinnoull. [189] BP является оператором нефтяного месторождения Clair, которое было оценено как крупнейший углеводородный ресурс в Великобритании. [190]
В Великобритании насчитывается 1200 заправочных станций BP. [191] [192] С 2018 года BP управляет крупнейшей в Великобритании сетью зарядки электромобилей через свою дочернюю компанию BP Pulse (ранее Chargemaster). [6]
В феврале 2020 года BP объявила о создании совместного предприятия с EnBW для разработки и эксплуатации 3 ГВт мощности морской ветроэнергетики в рамках 4-го раунда лизинга Crown Estate . [193] Это первый выход BP на рынок морской ветроэнергетики Великобритании , однако в настоящее время BP предоставляет ряд услуг сектору морской ветроэнергетики в Великобритании через свою дочернюю компанию ONYX InSight, которая предоставляет сектору ряд услуг по предиктивному техническому обслуживанию и инженерному консультированию. [194]
В феврале 2022 года компания BP объявила о приобретении 30% акций лондонской компании Green Biofuels Ltd, производителя возобновляемого гидрогенизированного растительного масла , которое может использоваться в качестве прямой замены дизельному топливу. [195]
The United States operations comprise nearly one-third of BP's operations.[196] BP employs approximately 14,000 people in the United States.[197] In 2018, BP's total production in the United States included 385,000 barrels per day (61,200 m3/d) of oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day (54 million cubic metres per day) of natural gas,[198] and its refinery throughput was 703,000 barrels per day (111,800 m3/d).[199]
BP's major subsidiary in the United States is BP America, Inc. (formerly: Standard Oil Company (Ohio) and Sohio) based in Houston, Texas.[200] BP Exploration & Production Inc., a 1996 established Houston-based subsidiary, is dealing with oil exploration and production.[201] BP Corporation North America, Inc., provides petroleum refining services as also transportation fuel, heat and light energy.[202] BP Products North America, Inc., a 1954 established Houston-based subsidiary, is engaged in the exploration, development, production, refining, and marketing of oil and natural gas.[203] BP America Production Company, a New Mexico-based subsidiary, engages in oil and gas exploration and development.[204] BP Energy Company, a Houston-based subsidiary, is a provider of natural gas, power, and risk management services to the industrial and utility sectors and a retail electric provider in Texas.[205]
BP's upstream activities in the Lower 48 states are conducted through Denver-based BPX Energy.[152] It has a 7.5 billion barrels (1.19 billion cubic metres) resource base on 5.7 million acres (23,000 km2).[206] It has shale positions in the Woodford, Oklahoma, Haynesville, Texas, and Eagle Ford, Texas shales.[207][208] It has unconventional gas (shale gas or tight gas) stakes also in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, primarily in the San Juan Basin.[209][210][211]
As of 2019[update], BP produced about 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m3/d) of oil equivalent in the Gulf of Mexico.[212] BP operates the Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika, and Thunder Horse production platforms while holding interest in hubs operated by other companies.[213][214] In April 2023, BP launched a new oil rig, the Argos, in the Gulf.[215]
BP operates Whiting Refinery in Indiana[216] and Cherry Point Refinery in Washington.[216] It formerly co-owned and operated a refinery in Toledo, Ohio, with Husky Energy, but sold its stake in the refinery in February 2023 to Cenovus Energy.[217][218][219]
BP operates nine onshore wind farms in six states, and held an interest in another in Hawaii with a net generating capacity of 1,679 MW.[220] These wind farms include the Cedar Creek 2, Titan 1, Goshen North, Flat Ridge 1 and 2, Mehoopany, Fowler Ridge 1, 2 and 3 and Auwahi wind farms.[221] It is also in process to acquire 50% non-operating stake in the Empire Wind off New York and Beacon Wind off Massachusetts offshore wind farms.[166]
In Egypt, BP produces approximately 15% of the country's total oil production and 40% of its domestic gas.[222] The company also has offshore gas developments in the East Nile Delta Mediterranean, and in the West Nile Delta,[223] where the company has a joint investment of US$9 billion with Wintershall Dea to develop North Alexandria and West Mediterranean concessions offshore gas fields.[224][225]
BP is active in offshore oil development in Angola, where it holds an interest in a total of nine oil exploration and production blocks covering more than 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi). This includes four blocks it acquired in December 2011 and an additional block that is operated by Brazilian national oil company, Petrobras, in which it holds a 40% stake.[226]
BP has a stake in exploration of two blocks of offshore deepwater assets in the South China Sea.[227][228]
In India, BP owns a 30% share of oil and gas assets operated by Reliance Industries, including exploration and production rights in more than 20 offshore oil and gas blocks, representing an investment of more than US$7 billion into oil and gas exploration in the country.[229]
BP has major liquefied natural gas activities in Indonesia, where it operates the Tangguh LNG project, which began production in 2009 and has a capacity of 7.6 million tonnes of liquid natural gas per year.[230] Also in that country, the company has invested in the exploration and development of coalbed methane.[231]
BP operates in Iraq as part of the joint venture Rumaila Operating Organization in the Rumaila oil field, the world's fourth largest oilfield, where it produced over 1 million barrels per day (160×103 m3/d) of oil equivalent in 2011.[232][233] A BBC investigation found in 2022 that waste-gas was being burned as close as 350 meters from people's homes. A leaked report from Ministry of Health (Iraq) blamed air pollution for 20% rise in cancer in Basra between 2015 and 2018.[234] The Iraqi Ministry of Health has banned its employees from speaking about the health damage.[234] Iraqi Environment Minister Jassem al-Falahi later admitted that "pollution from oil production is the main reason for increases in local cancer rates."[235]
In Oman, BP currently has a 60% participation interest in Block 61. Block 61 is one of Oman's largest gas blocks with a daily production capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas and more than 65,000 barrels of condensate. It covers around 3,950 km in central Oman and contains the largest tight gas development in the Middle East. On 1 February 2021, BP inked a deal to sell 20% participating interest in Block 61 to Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd. (PTTEP) for a total of $2.6 billion. Upon closure of the sale, the BP will remain the block's operator with a 40% interest.[236][237]
BP operates the Kwinana refinery in Western Australia, which can process up to 146,000 barrels per day (23,200 m3/d) of crude oil and is the country's largest refinery,[238] supplying fuel to 80% of Western Australia.[239] BP is a non-operating joint venture partner in the North West Shelf, which produces LNG, pipeline gas, condensate and oil.[240] The NWS venture is Australia's largest resource development and accounts for around one third of Australia's oil and gas production.[241][242]
BP operates the two largest oil and gas production projects in the Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea, the Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli offshore oil fields, which supplies 80% of the country's oil production, and the Shah Deniz gas field. It also and develops the Shafag-Asiman complex of offshore geological structures.[243][244][245] In addition, it operates the Sangachal terminal and the Azerbaijan's major export pipelines through Georgia such as Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan, Baku–Supsa and South Caucasus pipelines.[246]
BP's refining operations in continental Europe include Europe's second-largest oil refinery, located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, which can process up to 377,000 barrels (59,900 m3) of crude oil per day.[247] Other facilities are located in Ingolstadt, Gelsenkirchen and Lingen, in Germany, as well as one in Castellón, Spain.[248]
In addition to its offshore operations in the British zone of North Sea, BP has interests in the Norwegian section of the sea through its stake in Aker BP. As of December 2018[update], BP holds a 19.75% stake in Russia's state-controlled oil company Rosneft.[132][134][249]
Retail operations of motor vehicle fuels in Europe are present in the United Kingdom, France, Germany (through the Aral brand), the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Poland, Greece and Turkey.[250][251][252]
BP's Canadian operations are headquartered in Calgary and the company operates primarily in Newfoundland.[253] It purchases crude oil for the company's refineries in the United States, and has a 35 per cent stake in the undeveloped Bay du Nord project and three offshore exploration block in Newfoundland.[254]
BP is the largest oil and gas producer in Trinidad and Tobago, where it holds more than 1,350 square kilometres (520 sq mi) of offshore assets and is the largest shareholder in Atlantic LNG, one of the largest LNG plants in Western Hemisphere.[255]
In Brazil, BP holds stakes in offshore oil and gas exploration in the Barreirinhas, Ceará and Campos basins, in addition to onshore processing facilities.[256] BP also operates biofuel production facilities in Brazil, including three cane sugar mills for ethanol production.[257][258]
BP operated in Singapore until 2004 when it sold its retail network of 28 stations and LPG business to Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC). It also sold its 50% in SPC.[259]
BP's Türkiye Operator was Petrol Ofisi. (Vitol) (Agreement in place expected 2024.[260])
BP Upstream's activities include exploring for new oil and natural gas resources, developing access to such resources, and producing, transporting, storing and processing oil and natural gas.[261][262] The activities in this area of operations take place in 25 countries worldwide. In 2018, BP produced around 3.7 million barrels per day (590×103 m3/d) of oil equivalent,[6] of which 2.191 million barrels per day (348.3×103 m3/d) were liquids and 8.659 billion cubic feet per day (245.2 million cubic metres per day) was natural gas, and had total proved reserves of 19,945 million barrels (3,171.0×106 m3) of oil equivalent, of which liquids accounted 11,456 million barrels (1,821.4×106 m3) barrels and natural gas 49.239 trillion cubic feet (1.3943 trillion cubic metres).[263] In addition to the conventional oil exploration and production, BP has a stake in the three oil sands projects in Canada.[115][264]
BP expects its oil and gas production to fall by at least one million barrels a day by 2030, a 40% reduction on 2019 levels.[265] The reduction excludes non-operated production and BP's stake in Rosneft.[266]
BP downstream's activities include the refining, marketing, manufacturing, transportation, trading and supply of crude oil and petroleum products.[261] Downstream is responsible for BP's fuels and lubricants businesses, and has major operations located in Europe, North America and Asia.[267] As of 2018, BP owned or had a share in 11 refineries.[199]
BP, which employs about 1,800 people in oil trading and trades over 5 million barrels per day (790×103 m3/d) of oil and refined products, is the world's third-biggest oil trader after Royal Dutch Shell and Vitol.[268] The operation is estimated to be able to generate over $1 billion trading profits in a good year.[268]
Air BP is the aviation division of BP, providing aviation fuel, lubricants & services. It has operations in over 50 countries worldwide. BP Shipping provides the logistics to move BP's oil and gas cargoes to market, as well as marine structural assurance.[269] 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.[270]
BP has around 18,700 service stations worldwide.[6] Its flagship retail brand is BP Connect, a chain of service stations combined with a convenience store,[271] although in the US it is gradually being transitioned to the ampm format. BP also owns half of Kentucky-based convenience store company Thorntons LLC with ArcLight Capital Partners (who own the Gulf brand in the United States) since 2019. On 13 July 2021, BP announced it will take acquire ArcLight Capital Partners' share of Thorntons, and thus fully own the convenience store company. The deal is expected to close later in the year.[272] In Germany and Luxembourg, BP operates service stations under the Aral brand.[97] On the US West Coast, in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, and Utah, BP primarily operates service stations under the ARCO brand.[273] In Australia BP operates a number of BP Travel Centres, large-scale destination sites located which, in addition to the usual facilities in a BP Connect site, also feature food-retail tenants such as McDonald's, KFC and Nando's and facilities for long-haul truck drivers.[274]
Castrol is BP's main brand for industrial and automotive lubricants and is applied to a large range of BP oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications.[275]
BP's public rhetoric and pledges emphasise that the company is shifting towards climate-friendly, low-carbon and transition strategies. However, a 2022 study found that the company's spending on clean energy was insignificant and opaque, with little to suggest that the company's discourse matched its actions.[276]
BP was the first of supermajors to say that it would focus on energy sources other than fossil fuels.[149] It established an alternative and low carbon energy business in 2005. According to the company, it spent a total of $8.3 billion in renewable energy projects including solar, wind, and biofuels, and non-renewable projects including natural gas and hydrogen power, through completion in 2013.[277][278][279] The relatively small size of BP's alternative energy operations has led to allegations of greenwashing by Greenpeace,[280] Mother Jones,[281] and energy analyst and activist Antonia Juhasz,[282] among others.[283] In 2018, the CEO Bob Dudley said that out of the company's total spending of $15 to $17 billion per year, about $500 million will be invested in low-carbon energy and technology.[284] In August 2020, BP promised to increase its annual low carbon investments to $5 billion by 2030.[265] The company announced plans to transform into an integrated energy company, with a renewed focus on investing away from oil and into low-carbon technologies.[285] It has set targets to have a renewables portfolio of 20 GW by 2025, and 50 GW by 2030.[286]
BP operates nine wind farms in seven states of the U.S., and held an interest in another in Hawaii with a net generating capacity of 1,679 MW.[220] It is also in process to acquire 50% non-operating stake in the Empire Wind off New York and Beacon Wind off Massachusetts offshore wind farms.[166] BP and Tesla, Inc. are cooperating for testing the energy storage by battery at the Titan 1 wind farm.[287] BP Launchpad has also invested in ONYX InSight, one of the leading providers of predictive analytic solutions serving the wind industry.[288]
In Brazil, BP owns two ethanol producers—Companhia Nacional de Açúcar e Álcool andTropical BioEnergia—with three ethanol mills.[258] These mills produce around 800,000 cubic metres per annum (5,000,000 bbl/a) of ethanol equivalent.[289] BP has invested in an agricultural biotechnology company Chromatin, a company developing crops that can grow on marginal land and that are optimized to be used as feedstock for biofuel.[290] Its joint venture with DuPont called Butamax, which has developed the patented bio-butanol-producing technology,[291] and owns an isobutanol plant in Scandia, Kansas, United States.[151] In addition BP owns biomethane production facilities in Canton, Michigan, and North Shelby, Tennessee, as well as share of facilities under construction in Oklahoma City and Atlanta.[150] BP's subsidiary Air BP supplies aviation biofuel at Oslo, Halmstad, and Bergen airports.[292]
BP owns a 43% stake in Lightsource BP, a company which focuses on the managing and maintaining solar farms. As of 2017[update], Lightsource has commissioned 1.3 GW of solar capacity and manages about 2 GW of solar capacity. It plans to increase the capacity up to 8 GW through projects in the United States, India, Europe and the Middle East.[148][149] BP has invested $20 million in Israeli quick-charging battery firm StoreDot Ltd.[293] It operates electric vehicle charging networks in the UK under its subsidiary BP Chargemaster, and in China via a joint venture with Didi Chuxing.[156]
In partnership with Ørsted A/S, BP plans a 50 MV electrolyser at the Lingen refinery to produce hydrogen using North Sea wind power. Production is expected to begin in 2024.[294]
BP is a majority shareholder in carbon offset developer Finite Carbon,[167] and acquired 9 GW of US solar projects in 2021.[295]
In 2023, following the announcement of record profits, the company scaled back their emissions targets. Originally, the company promised a 35-40% cut of emissions by the end of the decade. On 7 February, BP revised the target to a 20-30% cut in emissions, stating that it needed to keep up with the current demands for oil and gas.[296]
The key trends of BP are (as at the financial year ending December 31):[299]
As of October 2023, the following individuals serve on the board:[300]
Past chairmen have included:[301][302][303]
The company's shares are primarily traded on the London Stock Exchange, but also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. In the United States shares are traded in US$ on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depository shares (ADS). One ADS represents six ordinary shares.[304]
Following the United States Federal Trade Commission's approval of the BP-Amoco merger in 1998, Amoco's stock was removed from the S&P 500 and was merged with BP shares on the London Stock Exchange.[305]
In the first quarter of 2001 the company adopted the marketing name of BP, and replaced its "Green Shield" logo with the "Helios" symbol, a green and yellow sunflower logo named after the Greek sun god and designed to represent energy in its many forms. BP introduced a new corporate slogan – "Beyond Petroleum" along with a $200M advertising and marketing campaign.[306][307] According to the company, the new slogan represented their focus on meeting the growing demand for fossil fuels, manufacturing and delivering more advanced products, and to enable transitioning to a lower carbon footprint.[308]
By 2008, BP's branding campaign had succeeded with the culmination of a 2007 Effie Award from the American Marketing Association, and consumers had the impression that BP was one of the greenest petroleum companies in the world.[309] BP was criticised by environmentalists and marketing experts, who stated that the company's alternative energy activities were only a fraction of the company's business at the time.[310] According to Democracy Now, BP's marketing campaign amounted to a deceptive greenwashing public-relations spin campaign given that BP's 2008 budget included more than $20 billion for fossil fuel investment and less than $1.5 billion for all alternative forms of energy.[311][312] Oil and energy analyst Antonia Juhasz notes BP's investment in green technologies peaked at 4% of its exploratory budget prior to cutbacks, including the discontinuation of BP Solar and the closure of its alternative energy headquarters in London.[136][311] According to Juhasz, "four percent...hardly qualifies the company to be Beyond Petroleum", citing BP's "aggressive modes of production, whether it's the tar sands [or] offshore".[311]
BP attained a negative public image from the series of industrial accidents that occurred through the 2000s, and its public image was severely damaged after the Deepwater Horizon explosion and Gulf Oil spill. In the immediate aftermath of the spill, BP initially downplayed the severity of the incident, and made many of the same PR errors that Exxon had made after the Exxon Valdez disaster.[313][314] CEO Tony Hayward was criticised for his statements and had committed several gaffes, including stating that he "wanted his life back."[315] Some in the media commended BP for some of its social media efforts, such as the use of Twitter and Facebook as well as a section of the company's website where it communicated its efforts to clean up the spill.[316][317][318]
In February 2012 BP North America launched a $500 million branding campaign to rebuild its brand.[319]
The company's advertising budget was about $5 million per week during the four-month spill in the Gulf of Mexico, totalling nearly $100 million.[320][321]
In May 2012, BP tasked a press office staff member to openly join discussions on the Wikipedia article's talk page and suggest content to be posted by other editors.[322] Controversy emerged in 2013 over the amount of content from BP that had entered this article.[323][324] Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales stated that, by identifying himself as a BP staff member, the contributor in question had complied with site policy regarding conflicts of interest.[323]
Investigative journalism by BBC Panorama and Africa Eye aired in June 2019 criticising BP for the way in which it had obtained the development rights of Cayar Offshore Profond and St. Louis Offshore Profond blocks, off the coast of Senegal in 2017. In 2012, a Frank Timiș company, Petro-Tim, though previously unknown to the oil industry, was awarded a license to explore the blocks despite having no known record in the industry. Soon after, Aliou Sall, brother of Senegal's president, Macky Sall, was hired at the company, implying a conflict of interest,[325] causing public outrage in Senegal. The 2019 program by BBC Panorama and Africa Eye accuses BP of a failure in due diligence when it agreed on a deal with Timis Corporation in 2017. The deal by BP is expected to provide substantial royalties to Frank Timiș despite accusations of initially obtaining the exploration rights through corruption. Kosmos Energy was also implicated.[326] BP refutes any implications of improper conduct. Regarding the acquisition of Timis Corporation interests in Senegal in April 2017, BP states that it "paid what it considered a fair market value for the interests at this stage of exploration/development". However, BP has not made public what was the basis of the valuation, and states that "the details of the deal are confidential".[327] BP argues that "the amount which would be paid separately by BP to Timis Corporation would be less than one percent of what the Republic of Senegal would receive". Senegal's justice ministry has called an inquiry into the energy contracts.[325]
In 2014, BP backed a global study researching challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees and for ways that companies can be a "force for change" for LGBT workers around the world.[328] In 2015, Reuters wrote that BP is "known for their more liberal policies for gay and transgender workers".[329] A 2016 article in the Houston Chronicle said BP was "among the first major companies in the United States to offer LGBT workers equal protection and benefits roughly 20 years ago".[330] BP scored a 100% on the 2018 Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, which was released in 2017, although this was the most common score.[331] Also in 2017, BP added gender reassignment surgery to its list of benefits for U.S. employees.[332] According to the Human Rights Campaign, BP is one of only a few oil and gas companies offering transgender benefits to its employees.[332] BP ranked No. 51 on the list of Top 100 employers for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff on the 2017 Stonewall Workplace Equality Index.[333] Also in 2017, John Mingé, chairman and president of BP America, signed a letter alongside other Houston oil executives denouncing the proposed "bathroom bill" in Texas.[334]
Prior to 1997, BP was a member of the Global Climate Coalition, an industry organisation 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.".[335][336] BP was distinguished as the first multinational outside of the reinsurance industry to publicly support the scientific consensus on climate change, which Pew Center on Global Climate Change president Eileen Claussen then described as a transformative moment on the issue.[337] In March 2002, Lord John Browne, the group chief executive of BP that time, declared in a speech that global warming was real and that urgent action was needed.[338] Notwithstanding this, from 1988 to 2015 BP was responsible for 1.53% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions.[12] In 2015, BP was listed by the UK-based non-profit organisation Influence Map as the fiercest opponent of action on climate change in Europe.[339] In 2018, BP was the largest contributor to the campaign opposing carbon fee initiative 1631 in Washington State.[340] Robert Allendorfer, manager of BP's Cherry Point refinery, wrote the following in a letter to state lawmakers: "[Initiative 1631] would exempt six of the ten largest stationary source emitters in the state, including a coal-fired power plant, an aluminum smelter, and a number of pulp and paper plants."[341] According to a 2019 Guardian ranking, BP was the 6th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.[342]
In February 2020, BP set a goal to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050. BP is seeking net-zero carbon emissions across its operations and the fuels the company sells, including emissions from cars, homes, and factories.[159][343][344] Details on the scope of this and how this will be achieved are publicly limited.[345] BP said that it is restructuring its operations into four business groups to meet these goals: production and operations; customers and products; gas and low carbon; and innovation and engineering.[159] The company discontinued involvement with American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, Western States Petroleum Association, and Western Energy Alliance, involved in lobbying government within the United States, because of differences of position on the issue of methane and carbon policies, as a development of this new commitment.[346][347] However, an investigation conducted by Unearthed, an investigations unit of Greenpeace UK, and HuffPost unveiled eight anti-climate trade associations BP failed to disclose, including Alliance of Western Energy Consumers, Texas Oil and Gas Association, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, and the Business Council of Australia, among others.[348]
In August 2020, BP America's chairman David Lawler criticised elimination of federal requirements to install equipment to detect and fix methane leaks by saying that "direct federal regulation of methane emissions is essential to preventing leaks throughout the industry and protecting the environment."[349] BP is also a founding member of Methane Guiding Principles, an industry consortium that aims to drive methane reductions throughout the global energy supply chain.[350]
In BP's Energy Outlook 2020, BP stated that the changing energy landscape coupled with the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic means that the global crude demand will never again surpass 2019's average. All three scenarios in the outlook see the consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas dropping while the role of renewable energy will soar. BP is also attempting to move from being an international oil company into becoming an integrated energy company that will focus on low-carbon technologies while also setting a target to reduce its overall oil and gas production by 40% by 2030.[351]
In 2021, BP was ranked as the 5th most environmentally responsible company out of 120 oil, gas, and mining companies involved in resource extraction north of the Arctic Circle in the Arctic Environmental Responsibility Index (AERI).[352]
In December 2022, U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney and U.S. House Oversight Environment Subcommittee Chair Ro Khanna sent a memorandum to all House Oversight and Reform Committee members summarizing additional findings from the Committee's investigation into the fossil fuel industry disinformation campaign to obscure the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming, and that upon reviewing internal company documents, accused BP along with ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell of greenwashing their Paris Agreement carbon neutrality pledges while continuing long-term investment in fossil fuel production and sales, for engaging in a campaign to promote the use of natural gas as a clean energy source and bridge fuel to renewable energy, and of intimidating journalists reporting about the companies' climate actions and of obstructing the Committee's investigation.[353][354][355]
After initially pledging to reduce its emissions by 35% by 2030, BP stated in 2023 that it would aim for a 20-30% reduction instead.[356]
In a 2016 study, conducted by Indra Øverland of Norwegian Institute of International Affairs BP was ranked 15th out of 18 levels (in total 37th out of 92 oil, gas and mining companies) on indigenous rights and resource extraction in the Arctic. The ranking of companies took into account 20 criteria, such as the companies' commitments to international standards, the presence of organisational units dedicated to handling indigenous rights, competent staffing, track records on indigenous issues, transparency, and procedures for consulting with indigenous peoples, but the actual performance of companies on indigenous rights was not assessed.[357]
In September 1999, one of BP's US subsidiaries, BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA), pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from its illegally dumping of hazardous wastes on the Alaska North Slope, paying fines and penalties totalling $22 million. BP paid the maximum $500,000 in criminal fines, $6.5 million in civil penalties, and established 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.[358]
In 2000, BP Amoco acquired ARCO, a Los Angeles-based oil group.[89]In 2003, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) filed a complaint against BP/ARCO, seeking $319 million in penalties for thousands of air pollution violations over an 8-year period.[359] In January 2005, the agency filed a second suit against BP based on violations between August 2002 and October 2004. The suit alleged that BP illegally released air pollutants by failing to adequately inspect, maintain, repair and properly operate thousands of pieces of equipment across the refinery as required by AQMD regulations. It was alleged that in some cases the violations were due to negligence, while in others the violations were knowingly and willfully committed by refinery officials.[360] In 2005, a settlement was reached under which BP agreed to pay $25 million in cash penalties and $6 million in past emissions fees, while spending $20 million on environmental improvements at the refinery and $30 million on community programs focused on asthma diagnosis and treatment.[361]
In 2013, a total of 474 Galveston County residents living near the BP Texas City Refinery filed a $1 billion lawsuit against BP, accusing the company of "intentionally misleading the public about the seriousness" of a two-week release of toxic fumes which began on 10 November 2011. "BP reportedly released Sulfur Dioxide, Methyl Carpaptan, Dimethyl Disulfide and other toxic chemicals into the atmosphere" reads the report. The lawsuit further claims Galveston county has the worst air quality in the United States due to BP's violations of air pollution laws. BP had no comment and said it would address the suit in the court system.[362][363][364][365]
In 2006, a group of Colombian farmers reached a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement with BP for alleged environmental damage caused by the Ocensa pipeline.[366] The company was accused of benefiting from a regime of terror carried out by Colombian government paramilitaries to protect the 450-mile (720 km) Ocensa pipeline; BP said throughout that it has acted responsibly and that landowners were fairly compensated.[367]
In 2009, another group of 95 Colombian farmers filed a suit against BP, saying the company's Ocensa pipeline caused landslides and damage to soil and groundwater, affecting crops, livestock, and contaminating water supplies, making fish ponds unsustainable. Most of the land traversed by the pipeline was owned by peasant farmers who were illiterate and unable to read the environmental impact assessment conducted by BP prior to construction, which acknowledged significant and widespread risks of damage to the land.[368] The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia handed down a judgement rejecting the case in August 2016.[369]
Since 2007, BP has been involved in oil sands projects,[370] which Greenpeace has called a climate crime.[371] Members of Canada's First Nations have criticised BP's involvement for the impacts oil sands extraction has on the environment.[372] In 2010, BP pledged to use only in-situ technologies instead of open-pit mining.[373] It uses steam-assisted gravity drainage in-situ technology to extract bitumen.[374] According to Greenpeace it is even more damaging to climate because while according to the Pembina Institute in-situ techniques result in lower nitrogen oxide emissions, and are less damaging to the landscape and rivers, they cause more greenhouse gas and sulphur dioxide emissions than mining.[373] In 2010, activist shareholders asked BP for a full investigation of the Sunrise oil sands project, but were defeated.[373][375] In 2013, shareholders criticised the project for being carbon-intensive.[376]
Citing conditions similar to those that resulted in the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion, on 25 April 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined BP more than $2.4 million for unsafe operations at the company's Oregon, Ohio refinery. An OSHA inspection resulted in 32 per-instance wilful citations including locating people in vulnerable buildings among the processing units, failing to correct depressurisation deficiencies and deficiencies with gas monitors, and failing to prevent the use of non-approved electrical equipment in locations in which hazardous concentrations of flammable gases or vapours may exist. BP was further fined for neglecting to develop shutdown procedures and designate responsibilities and to establish a system to promptly address and resolve recommendations made after an incident when a large feed pump failed three years prior to 2006. Penalties were also issued for five serious violations, including failure to develop operating procedures for a unit that removes sulphur compound; failure to ensure that operating procedures reflect current operating practice in the Isocracker Unit; failure to resolve process hazard analysis recommendations; failure to resolve process safety management compliance audit items in a timely manner; and failure to periodically inspect pressure piping systems.[377][378]
In 2008, BP and several other major oil refiners agreed to pay $422 million to settle a class-action lawsuit stemming from water contamination tied to the gasoline additive MTBE, a chemical that was once a key gasoline ingredient. Leaked from storage tanks, MTBE has been found in several water systems across the United States. The plaintiffs maintain that the industry knew about the environmental dangers but that they used it instead of other possible alternatives because it was less expensive. The companies will also be required to pay 70% of cleanup costs for any wells newly affected at any time over the next 30 years.[379][380]
BP has one of the worst safety records of any major oil company that operates in the United States. Between 2007 and 2010, BP refineries in Ohio and Texas accounted for 97% of "egregious, willful" violations handed out by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). BP had 760 "egregious, willful" violations during that period, while Sunoco and Conoco-Phillips each had eight, Citgo two and Exxon had one.[381] The deputy assistant secretary of labour at OSHA, said "The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company."[382]
A report in ProPublica, published in The Washington Post'' in 2010, found that over a decade of internal investigations of BP's Alaska operations during the 2000s warned senior BP managers that the company repeatedly disregarded safety and environmental rules and risked a serious accident if it did not change its ways. ProPublica found that "Taken together, these documents portray a company that systemically ignored its own safety policies across its North American operations – from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico to California and Texas. Executives were not held accountable for the failures, and some were promoted despite them."[383]
The Project On Government Oversight, an independent non-profit organisation in the United States which investigates and seeks to expose corruption and other misconduct, lists BP as number one on their listing of the 100 worst corporations based on instances of misconduct.[384]
In December 1965, Britain's first oil rig, Sea Gem, capsized when two of the legs collapsed during an operation to move it to a new location. The oil rig had been hastily converted in an effort to quickly start drilling operations after the North Sea was opened for exploration. Thirteen crew members were killed. No hydrocarbons were released in the accident.[385][386]
The former Amoco oil refinery at Texas City, Texas, was beset by environmental issues, including chemical leaks and a 2005 explosion that killed 15 people and injured hundreds. Bloomberg News described the incident, which led to a guilty plea by BP to a felony Clean Air Act charge, as "one of the deadliest U.S. industrial accidents in 20 years." The refinery was sold to Marathon Petroleum in October 2012.[387]
In March 2005, the Texas City refinery, one of the largest refineries owned then by BP, exploded causing 15 deaths, injuring 180 people and forcing thousands of nearby residents to remain sheltered in their homes.[388] A 20-foot (6.1 m) 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.[389] 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.[390]
The fallout from the accident clouded BP's corporate image because of the mismanagement at the plant. There had been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board[391] 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.[388] The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, was fined $50 million, the largest ever assessed under the Clean Air Act, and sentenced to three years probation.[392]
On 30 October 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 documented in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been cited but not fixed and 439 new violations. BP appealed the fine.[388][393] In July 2012, the company agreed to pay $13 million to settle the new violations. At that time OSHA found "no imminent dangers" at the Texas plant. Thirty violations remained under discussion.[394] In March 2012, US Department of Justice officials said the company had met all of its obligations and subsequently ended the probationary period.[395] In November 2011, BP agreed to pay the state of Texas $50 million for violating state emissions standards at its Texas City refinery during and after the 2005 explosion at the refinery. The state Attorney General said BP was responsible for 72 separate pollutant emissions that have been occurring every few months since March 2005. It was the largest fine ever imposed under the Texas Clean Air Act.[396][397]
In 2007, 143 workers at the Texas City refinery claimed that they were injured when a toxic substance was released at the plant. In December 2009, after a three-week trial, a federal jury in Galveston awarded ten of those workers $10 million each in punitive damages, in addition to smaller damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering. The plant had a history of chemical releases.[398] In March 2010, the federal judge hearing the case reduced the jury's award to less than $500,000. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt said the plaintiffs failed to prove BP was grossly negligent.[399]
In August 2010, the Texas Attorney General charged BP with illegally emitting harmful air pollutants from its Texas City refinery for more than a month. BP has admitted that malfunctioning equipment led to the release of over 530,000 pounds (240,000 kg) of chemicals into the air of Texas City and surrounding areas from 6 April to 16 May 2010. The leak included 17,000 pounds (7,700 kg) of benzene, 37,000 pounds (17,000 kg) of nitrogen oxides, and 186,000 pounds (84,000 kg) of carbon monoxide. The State's investigation showed that BP's failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction. When the equipment malfunctioned and caught fire, BP workers shut it down and routed escaping gases to flares. Rather than shut down associated units while compressor repairs were made, BP chose to keep operating those other units, which led to unlawful release of contaminants for almost 40 days. The Attorney General is seeking civil penalties of no less than $50 nor greater than $25,000 per day of each violation of state air quality laws, as well as attorneys' fees and investigative costs.[397][400][401]
In June 2012, over 50,000 Texas City residents joined a class-action suit against BP, alleging they became sick in 2010 as a result of the emissions release from the refinery. BP said the release harmed no one.[402] In October 2013, a trial designed as a test for a larger suit that includes 45,000 people found that BP was negligent in the case, but due to the lack of substantial evidence linking illness to the emissions, decided the company would be absolved of any wrongdoing.[403][404]
In March 2006, corrosion of a BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA) oil transit pipeline in Prudhoe Bay transporting oil to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline led to a five-day leak and the largest oil spill on Alaska's North Slope.[13] According to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), a total of 212,252 US gallons (5,053.6 bbl; 803.46 m3) of oil was spilled, covering 2 acres (0.81 ha) of the North Slope.[405] BP admitted that cost-cutting measures had resulted in a lapse in monitoring and maintenance of the pipeline and the consequent leak. At the moment of the leak, pipeline inspection gauges (known as "pigs") had not been run through the pipeline since 1998.[406][407][408][409] BP completed the clean-up of the spill by May 2006, including removal of contaminated gravel and vegetation, which was replaced with new material from the Arctic tundra.[405][410]
Following the spill, the company was ordered by regulators to inspect the 35 kilometres (22 mi) of pipelines in Prudhoe Bay using "smart pigs".[411] In late July 2006, the "smart pigs" monitoring the pipelines found 16 places where corrosion had thinned pipeline walls. A BP crew sent to inspect the pipe in early August discovered a leak and small spill,[411][412] following which, BP announced that the eastern portion of the Alaskan field would be shut down for repairs on the pipeline,[412][413] with approval from the Department of Transportation. The shutdown resulted 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.[414] In total, 23 barrels (3.7 m3) of oil were spilled and 176 barrels (28.0 m3) were "contained and recovered", according to ADEC. The spill was cleaned up and there was no impact upon wildlife.[415]
After the shutdown, BP pledged to replace 26 kilometres (16 mi) of its Alaskan oil transit pipelines[416][417] and the company completed work on the 16 miles (26 km) of new pipeline by the end of 2008.[418] In November 2007, BP Exploration, Alaska pleaded guilty to negligent discharge of oil, a misdemeanour under the federal Clean Water Act and was fined US$20 million.[419] There was no charge brought for the smaller spill in August 2006 due to BP's quick response and clean-up.[406] On 16 October 2007, ADEC officials reported a "toxic spill" from a BP pipeline in Prudhoe Bay comprising 2,000 US gallons (7,600 L; 1,700 imp gal) of primarily methanol (methyl alcohol) mixed with crude oil and water, which spilled onto a gravel pad and frozen tundra pond.[420]
In the settlement of a civil suit, in July 2011 investigators from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration determined that the 2006 spills were a result of BPXA's failure to properly inspect and maintain the pipeline to prevent corrosion. The government issued a Corrective Action Order to BP XA that addressed the pipeline's risks and ordered pipeline repair or replacement. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had investigated the extent of the oil spills and oversaw BPXA's cleanup. When BP XA did not fully comply with the terms of the corrective action, a complaint was filed in March 2009 alleging violations of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Pipeline Safety Act. In July 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska entered a consent decree between the United States and BPXA resolving the government's claims. Under the consent decree, BPXA paid a $25 million civil penalty, the largest per-barrel penalty at that time for an oil spill, and agreed to take measures to significantly improve inspection and maintenance of its pipeline infrastructure on the North Slope to reduce the threat of additional oil spills.[421][422]
On 17 September 2008, a small gas leak was discovered and one gas-injection well broached to surface in the area of the Central Azeri platform at the Azeri oilfield, a part of the Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli (ACG) project, in the Azerbaijan sector of Caspian Sea.[423][424] The platform was shut down and the staff was evacuated.[423] As the West Azeri Platform was being powered by a cable from the Central Azeri Platform, it was also shut down.[425] Production at the West Azeri Platform resumed on 9 October 2008 and at the Central Azeri Platform in December 2008.[426][427] According to leaked US Embassy cables, BP had been "exceptionally circumspect in disseminating information" and showed that BP thought the cause for the blowout was a bad cement job. The cables further said that some of BP's ACG partners complained that the company was so secretive that it was withholding information even from them.[424][428][429]
Santa Barbara County District Attorney sued BP West Coast Products LLC, BP Products North America, Inc., and Atlantic Richfield Company over allegations that the companies violated state laws regarding operating and maintaining motor vehicle fuel underground storage tank laws. BP settled a lawsuit for $14 million. The complaint alleged that BP failed to properly inspect and maintain underground tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale at approximately 780 gas stations in California over a period of ten years and violated other hazardous material and hazardous waste laws. The case settled in November 2016 and was the result of collaboration among the California Attorney General's Office and several district attorney's offices across the state.[430]
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The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a major industrial accident on the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 people and injured 16 others, leaked about 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m3) of oil with plus or minus 10% uncertainty,[14] which makes it the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry,[15][432] and cost to the company more than $65 billion of cleanup costs, charges and penalties.[20][21] On 20 April 2010, the semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon located in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout. After burning for two days, the rig sank. The well was finally capped on 15 July 2010. Of 4.9 million barrels (210 million US gal; 780,000 m3) of leaked oil 810,000 barrels (34 million US gal; 129,000 m3) was collected or burned while 4.1 million barrels (170 million US gal; 650,000 m3) entered the Gulf waters.[433][434] 1.8 million US gallons (6,800 m3) of Corexit dispersant was applied.[435][436]
The spill had a strong economic impact on the Gulf Coast's economy sectors such as fishing and tourism.[437]
Oil spill caused damages across a range of species and habitats in the Gulf.[438] Researchers say the oil and dispersant mixture, including PAHs, permeated the food chain through zooplankton.[439][440][441] Toxicological effects have been documented in benthic and pelagic fish, estuarine communities, mammals, birds and turtles, deep-water corals, plankton, foraminifera, and microbial communities. Effects on different populations consist of increased mortality or as sub-lethal impairment on the organisms' ability to forage, reproduce and avoid predators.[438] In 2013, it was reported that dolphins and other marine life continued to die in record numbers with infant dolphins dying at six times the normal rate,[442] and half the dolphins examined in a December 2013 study were seriously ill or dying. BP said the report was "inconclusive as to any causation associated with the spill."[443][444]
Studies in 2013 suggested that as much as one-third of the released oil remains in the gulf. Further research suggested that the oil on the bottom of the seafloor was not degrading.[445] Oil in affected coastal areas increased erosion due to the death of mangrove trees and marsh grass.[446][447][448]
Researchers looking at sediment, seawater, biota, and seafood found toxic compounds in high concentrations that they said was due to the added oil and dispersants.[449] Although Gulf fisheries recovered in 2011,[450] a 2014 study of the effects of the oil spill on bluefin tuna by researchers at Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, published in the journal Science, found that toxins released by the oil spill sent fish into cardiac arrest. The study found that even very low concentrations of crude oil can slow the pace of fish heartbeats. BP disputed the study, which was conducted as part of the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment process required by the Oil Pollution Act.[451][452] The study also found that oil already broken down by wave action and chemical dispersants was more toxic than fresh oil.[453] Another peer-reviewed study, released in March 2014 and conducted by 17 scientists from the United States and Australia and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that tuna and amberjack that were exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart and other organs. BP responded that the concentrations of oil in the study were a level rarely seen in the Gulf, but The New York Times reported that the BP statement was contradicted by the study.[454]
Research discussed at a 2013 conference included preliminary results of an ongoing study being done by the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences indicating that oil spill cleanup workers carry biomarkers of chemicals contained in the spilled oil and the dispersants used.[455] A separate study is following the health issues of women and children affected by the spill. Several studies found that a "significant percentage" of Gulf residents reported mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and PTSD.[455] According to a Columbia University study investigating the health effects among children living less than 10 miles from the coast, more than a third of the parents report physical or mental health symptoms among their children.[455]
Australia's 60 Minutes reported that people living along the gulf coast were becoming sick from the mixture of Corexit and oil.[456] Susan Shaw, of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Strategic Sciences Working Group, says "BP told the public that Corexit was 'as harmless as Dawn dishwashing liquid'...But BP and the EPA clearly knew about the toxicity of the Corexit long before this spill." According to Shaw, BP's own safety sheet on Corexit says that there are "high and immediate human health hazards".[457] Cleanup workers were not provided safety equipment by the company, and the safety manuals were "rarely if ever" followed, or distributed to workers, according to a Newsweek investigation. The safety manuals read: "Avoid breathing vapor" and "Wear suitable protective clothing."[458][459] Oil clean up workers reported that they were not allowed to use respirators, and that their jobs were threatened if they did.[460][461][462]
A peer-reviewed study published in The American Journal of Medicine reported significantly altered blood profiles of individuals exposed to the spilled oil and dispersants that put them at increased risk of developing liver cancer, leukemia and other disorders.[463] BP disputed its methodology and said other studies supported its position that dispersants did not create a danger to health.[464]
In 2014, a study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which found heart deformities in fish exposed to oil from the spill. The researchers said that their results probably apply to humans as well as fish.[454]
On 15 December 2010, the Department of Justice filed a civil and criminal suit against BP and other defendants for violations under the Clean Water Act in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.[465][466]: 70 The case was consolidated with about 200 others, including those brought by state governments, individuals, and companies under Multi-District Litigation docket MDL No. 2179, before U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.[467][468]
In November 2012, BP and the Department of Justice reached a $4 billion settlement of all federal criminal charges related to the explosion and spill. Under the settlement, BP agreed to plead guilty to 11 felony counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress and agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety practices and ethics. BP also paid $525 million to settle civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it misled investors about the flow rate of oil from the well.[17][469] At the same time, the US government filed criminal charges against three BP employees; two site managers were charged with manslaughter and negligence, and one former vice president with obstruction.[17]
Judge Barbier ruled in the first phase of the case that BP had committed gross negligence and that "its employees took risks that led to the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history." He apportioned fault at 67% for BP, 30% for Transocean and 3% for Halliburton. Barbier ruled that BP was "reckless" and had acted with "conscious disregard of known risks."[470][471]
In June 2010, after a meeting in the White House between President Barack Obama and BP executives, the president announced that BP would pay $20 billion into a trust fund that will be used to compensate victims of the oil spill. BP also set aside $100 million to compensate oil workers who lost their jobs because of the spill.[472][473]
On 2 March 2012, BP and businesses and residents affected by the spill reached a settlement of roughly 100,000 suits claiming economic losses. BP estimated that the settlement cost more than $9.2 billion.[474][475]
In 2015, BP and five states agreed to an $18.5 billion settlement to be used for Clean Water Act penalties and various claims.[19]
On 20 September 2022, a fire at BP's Husky Toledo refinery caused the death of two workers there. The fire was put out that day, but the refinery remained shut down. The refinery's shutdown was expected to increase American petrol prices.[476]
BP lobbied the British government to conclude a prisoner-transfer agreement which the Libyan government had wanted to secure the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing over Scotland, which killed 270 people. BP stated that it pressed for the conclusion of prisoner transfer agreement amid fears that delays would damage its "commercial interests" and disrupt its £900 million offshore drilling operations in the region, but it said that it had not been involved in negotiations concerning the release of Megrahi.[477][478]
In February 2002, BP's then-chief executive, Lord Browne of Madingley, renounced the practice of corporate campaign contributions, saying: "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."[479] When the Washington Post reported in June 2010 that BP North America "donated at least $4.8 million in corporate contributions in the past seven years to political groups, partisan organizations and campaigns engaged in federal and state elections", mostly to oppose ballot measures in two states aiming to raise taxes on the oil industry, the company said that the commitment had only applied to contributions to individual candidates.[480]
During the 2008 U.S. election cycle, BP employees contributed to various candidates, with Barack Obama receiving the largest amount of money,[481] broadly in line with contributions from Shell and Chevron, but significantly less than those of Exxon Mobil.[482]
In 2009, BP spent nearly $16 million lobbying the U.S. Congress.[483] In 2011, BP spent a total of $8,430,000 on lobbying and had 47 registered lobbyists.[484]
In 1937, Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), 23.75% owned by BP,[42] signed an oil concession agreement with the Sultan of Muscat. In 1952, IPC offered financial support to raise an armed force that would assist the Sultan in occupying the interior region of Oman, an area that geologists believed to be rich in oil. This led to the 1954 outbreak of Jebel Akhdar War in Oman that lasted for more than five years.[43]
The US Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against BP Products North America Inc. (subsidiary of BP plc) and several BP traders, alleging they conspired to raise the price of propane by seeking to corner the propane market in 2004.[485][486][487] In 2006, one former trader pleaded guilty.[486] In 2007, BP paid $303 million in restitution and fines as part of an agreement to defer prosecution.[488] BP was charged with cornering and manipulating the price of TET propane in 2003 and 2004. BP paid a $125 million civil monetary penalty to the CFTC, established a compliance and ethics program, and installed a monitor to oversee BP's trading activities in the commodities markets. BP also paid $53 million into a restitution fund for victims, a $100 million criminal penalty, plus $25 million into a consumer fraud fund, as well as other payments.[489] Also in 2007, four other former traders were charged. These charges were dismissed by a US District Court in 2009 on the grounds that the transactions were exempt under the Commodities Exchange Act because they didn't occur in a marketplace but were negotiated contracts among sophisticated companies. The dismissal was upheld by the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuitin 2011.[487]
In November 2010, US regulators FERC and CFTC began an investigation of BP for allegedly manipulating the gas market. The investigation relates to trading activity that occurred in October and November 2008.[490][491] At that time, CFTC Enforcement staff provided BP with a notice of intent to recommend charges of attempted market manipulation in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act. BP denied that it engaged in "any inappropriate or unlawful activity." In July 2011, the FERC staff issued a "Notice of Alleged Violations" saying it had preliminarily determined that several BP entities fraudulently traded physical natural gas in the Houston Ship Channel and Katy markets and trading points to increase the value of their financial swing spread positions.[492]
In May 2013, the European Commission started an investigation into allegations the companies reported distorted prices to the price reporting agency Platts, in order to "manipulate the published prices" for several oil and biofuel products.[493][494] The investigation was dropped in December 2015 due to lack of evidence.[495]
A dataset of gasoline prices of BP, Caltex, Woolworths, Coles, and Gull from Perth gathered in the years 2001 to 2015 was used to show by statistical analysis the tacit collusion between these retailers.[496]
Documents from a 2016 bid to drill in the Great Australian Bight revealed claims by BP that a large-scale cleanup operation following a massive oil spill would bring a "welcome boost to local economies."[497] In the same bid BP also stated that a diesel spill would be "socially acceptable" due to a lack of "unresolved stakeholder concerns".[497]
An internal email from mid 2017, was leaked in April 2018 in New Zealand. The email laid out that pricing was to be raised at certain sites in a region around Otaki in order to regain volume lost at that branch.[498] This led to the Government asking the Commerce Commission to investigate regional prices: initial indications were that motorists were paying too much across most of the country.[499]
In 1954, the board changed the company's name to The British Petroleum Company
In 1954, in an attempt perhaps to move beyond its image as a quasi-colonial enterprise, the company rebranded itself the British Petroleum Company
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