Introduction

BP plc,also referred to by its former name British Petroleum, is one of the world's seven "supermajor" oil
and gas companies.It is a British multinational company, headquartered in London, England, whose
performance in 2012 made it the world's sixth-largest oil and gas company, the sixth-largest energy
company by market capitalization and the company with the world's fifth-largest revenue (turnover).It is a
vertically integrated company operating in all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and
production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has
renewable energy interests in biofuels and wind power.

As of December 2013, BP has operations in approximately 80 countries,produces around 3.2 million

barrels per day (510,000 m3/d) of oil equivalent,has total proved reserves of 17.9 billion barrels (2.85109
m3) of oil equivalent,and has around 17,800 service stations.Its largest division is BP America in the
United States. In Russia BP owns a 19.75% stake in Rosneft, the world's largest publicly traded oil and
gas company by hydrocarbon reserves and production. BP has a primary listing on the London Stock
Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index; it had a market capitalisation of 85.2 billion as of
April 2013, the fourth-largest of any company listed on the exchange.It has secondary listings on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

British Petroleum is the third largest publicly traded energy company in the world and the fourth largest
company overall in terms of revenue. In 2010, BP had revenues of $308 billion and claimed total assets of
$272 billion. BP employs over 79,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in London, England but has
additional headquarters in Houston, Texas.
Since 1951, BP has annually published its Statistical Review of World Energy, which is considered an
energy industry benchmark.

British Petroleum Logo

The original BP logo, also known as the classic shield logo, was designed by famous industrial designer
Raymond Loewy . Introduced in 1979, it underwent a minor overhaul in 1989. A fairly lighter shade was
adapted to adjust the corporate image to a more greener look. The emblem was also given a cleaner
appearance with the addition of a yellow border around the shield. The shiled logo was used by the
company until 2000.
The current version of BP logo was designed by Landor , a famous San Francisco based design agency.
It was unveiled in the first quarter of 2000 to conincide with the widely known brand name change from
BP Amoco to BP, which came about with a new slogan: Beyond Petroleum. The logo consisting of a
green and yellow sunflower, was designed to symbolize energy in its various forms.

British Petroleum Slogan/tag line

Beyond petroleum
Back in July, 2000, British Petroleum launched a high-profile, $200 million public relations ad campaign
designed by Ogilvy & Mather to position the company as environmentally-friendly. The company
introduced a new slogan, "Beyond Petroleum," and changed its 70 year-old, sheild-style logo to a new,
cheerful green and yellow sunburst.

Brief History

1909: Anglo-Persian Oil Company formed.

1914: Deal with UK government to help Royal Navy switch coal to fual.
1912-1918: Increase in oil production in Iran.
1917: Acquires BP co. from marketing subsidiary of the European Petroleum Union.
1935: Company rename Anglo-Iranian oil Co.
1951: Iranian oil industry was formally nationalized.
1960-1970: Major oil discover in Alaska & North Sea.
1969:Signed agreement with Standard Oil co. of Ohio which aided BPs transportation of the fuel
in the biggest oil field in the U.S.
1982:Adopted present corporate name BP
1987:BP acquired Standard outright and merged with BPs other interest in the United States to
form BP America.

Mission Statement
Long term commitment to prosper as an integrated, international company with strong technology base
and a focused marketing effort.

Vision Statement

To improve our performance and have a steady disciplined growth.

Strategic Culture

BPs culture rest heavily on their employees. They are the key to BPs future growth.
Technology is key to both up and downstream operation.
HSE-raises health standards, no damage to environment or people.
Better relationship with countries where operations already exist.

Founding Year
In 1900, Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, a former British minister to Teheran, approached William Knox
D'Arcy, a wealthy owner of mining interests in Australia, to invest in Persian oil exploration. In May 1901,
D'Arcy was granted a concession by the Shah of Iran to search for oil over 480,000 sq. miles (1,243,195
km) in Iran. D'Arcy agreed to finance the search, and sent George Reynolds and a team of explorers to
Shardin, Iran. By 1905 he had invested his entire fortune and there were still no signs of oil. In May 1905,
the British-owned Burmah Oil Company took over the rights to his concession in return for 170,000
Burmah Oil shares and a payment to cover expenses DArcy had incurred. Oil was discovered on May 26,
1908, the first commercially significant find in the Middle East. On April 14, 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil
Company (APOC) was incorporated to exploit the new oil field. On the day Anglo-Persian stock opened
for trading in London and Glasgow, investors waited five deep in front of the cashiers at a Scottish bank to
buy shares in the new company.
The Field of Naphtha oilfield was 210 kilometers from Abadan, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, where
Anglo-Persian was building an oil refinery. It took two years to build a pipeline across the rugged
mountains. Segments of pipe imported from the United States were carried upriver by barge, then
dragged by mules and finally by laborers where the land was too steep for animals to pass. At its
completion, the Abadan refinery was the worlds largest, supported by a workforce of fitters, riveters,
masons and clerks from India, carpenters from China and semi-skilled workers from the surrounding Arab
countries.
By 1914, the Anglo-Persian project was nearly bankrupt; it could not find a market for its oil. Automobiles
were too expensive to be widely used, and more established companies in Europe and the United States
had cornered the market in industrial oils. The Persian oils strong, sulfurous stench made it unsuitable as
kerosene for home heating, one of the primary uses for oil at the time. Anglo-Persian executives had
repeatedly approached the British Royal Navy as a prospective customer for its oil, but conservative
politicians were reluctant to endorse the use of oil instead of coal for fuel. Winston Churchill, then First
Lord of the Admiralty, thought Britain needed a dedicated oil supply, and he argued the case in
Parliament, urging his colleagues to look out upon the wide expanse of the oil regions of the world! Only
the British-owned Anglo-Persian Oil Company, he said, could protect British interests. Parliament passed
the resolution with an overwhelming majority, and the British government became a major shareholder in
the company. World War I began just two weeks later, establishing the importance of a reliable supply of
oil for military dominance.

Name of the Founder

William Knox D'Arcy (11 October 1849 1 May 1917) was
one of the principal founders of the oil and petrochemical
industry in Persia (Iran).

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

Operations
BP has operations in around 80 countries worldwide with the global headquarters in England, located in
the St James's area of London. As of November 2013, the company had a total of 83,900 employees. BP
operations are organized into two main business segments, Upstream and Downstream.

Europe
Austria

Azerbaijan

Belgium

Cyprus

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Slovak
Republic

Czech
Republic
Italy

Denmark

Finland

Georgia

Luxembourg

Norway

Spain

Switzerland

Netherla
nd
Turkey

United
Kingdom

Americas
Brazil

Canada

Mexico

Trinidad &
Tobago

United
State

Egypt
Saudi Arabia

Iraq
South Africa

Kuwait
United

Africa and Middle East

Algeria
Mozambique

Angola
Oman

Arab

Emirates
Asia Pacific
Australia
Malaysia
Thailand

China
New Zealand
Vietnam

India
Philippines

Indonesia
Singapore

Japan
South Korea

Brand Portfolio
Aral
Aral is a brand of automobile fuels and petrol stations, present in Germany and Luxembourg, but formerly
used in most countries of Western and Central Europe. The company behind the brand name, Aral AG
(previously Veba l AG), is owned by BP, but was established in 1898. The Aral brand was introduced in
1924 and is a portmanteau of the German words "Aromaten" and "Aliphaten", alluding to the aromatic and
aliphatic components found in gasoline, respectively.

Castrol
Castrol is a British global brand of industrial and automotive lubricants offering a wide range of oils,
greases and similar products for most lubrication applications.
The Wakefield Oil Company was founded by Charles Cheers Wakefield in 1899. The brand "Castrol"
originated after researchers added castor oil to their lubricant formulations. In 1966, Castrol was acquired
by Scottish company Burmah Oil, which was renamed Burmah-Castrol. Burmah-Castrol was purchased
by London-based multinational BP in 2000.

Ampm
The ampm brand is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states, including
Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, recently in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Florida, and in several countries worldwide, formerly including Japan. The ampm
brand is owned by BP America, Inc., a subsidiary of BP, which acquired its founding owner, Atlantic
Richfield Company (ARCO), in 2000. In the US, the stores are usually attached to an ARCO or BPbranded gas station. The first location opened in Southern California in 1978.

Wild Bean Cafe

Good food and quality coffee can be hard to come by on the road, but Wild Bean Cafe is an exception to
the rule. Tucked into many BP Connect stations, these on-the-go cafs offer inventive sandwiches, fresh
baked goods and delicious, fresh-ground coffee.
Conceived as a brand that would take convenience food to a new level, Wild Bean offers the speed and
affordability of more typical service station shops plus one more thing. Everythings made with quality
ingredients and served fresh. You can enjoy your food, coffee or cappuccino in the coffee shop space or
take it with you to enjoy on the move.
Wild Bean Cafe operates in several continents around the world. Youll find it in parts of Europe, Australia
and South Africa. We also have a presence in China and Russia, and new branches are opening all the
time.

International Business Strategy of BP

In analyzing the business strategy being adopted by BP, the use of porters generic strategies can be
used to analyze Bp. BP over the years has been trying to differentiate itself amongst various competitors
in a way that makes them appeal to customers compared to their other competitors, and this
differentiation approach is achieved via quality, innovations and responsiveness to customers.
BP has different brands such as BP, Ampm, Arco, Castrol, Aral and Wild bean cafe (www.bp.com), and
also diversification into development and production of alternative sources of energy which differentiate
the company, makes Bp flexible and also able to respond to the demands of the market.
Differentiation strategy involves Identifying possibilities based on competences by adding benefits, new
features (product innovation) etc. BP has used it various brands and involvement in many segments and
other capabilities of the company to develop the differentiated strategy.
Factor input in the BP plc is innovative and involves technological creativity in nature, the processes
involved in the company is flexible and of quality which gives rise to products differentiations and
uniqueness in their productivity i.e. output to final consumers both individual and industrial consumers.
The competitive scope is of broad target because Bp does not only produce fuel for the marine, aviation
and automotive industry, they also have plans for alternative energy source by engaging in the
development of the alternative sources of energy and by so doing this makes by to stand out in the
industry.

Bp has been identified as an organization that adopts differentiation strategy over the years due to the
proper utilization of the companys competences or capabilities in terms of having brands and also
technical creativity or innovation in terms of the development and production of alternative energy source
such as bio-fuels, wind and solar energy.

Entry Strategy and Strategic Alliance (Chapter-7)

Among from several entry modes, BP chooses licensing to expand its foreign operation. Their strategies
for licensing are:Proprietary technology:-BP is the first company to identify the need to invest into development of new
way to produce energy; it has invested 8 billion dollars to develop and posses the new technology in
production.
Access to raw materials and other inputs:- Though the tendency of this particular barrier might not
seem appropriate to BPs production as they are freely and abundantly available in nature however BP
still can gain competitive advantage by reserving the copy right of the technology that is will be used to
convert the alternative resources into energy. Thus generating revenue.
Risk:-Traditionally established companies are often not the first to be in the new emerging industry due to
technological advancement even having the ability and obvious strengths, but climb the band wagon latter
and tries to establish by placing high higher opportunity cost, in this case BP has some relatively obvious
strength like knowledge of the customers and brand strength, so it is advisable that BP continue to press
by investing into research of alternative fuels.
Strategic alliance:In a move characterized as the largest ever industrial merger BP co. plc and Amaco Crop. Have agreed
to unite their businesses on a global and comprehensive basis.
The combined firm, to be based in London, will be the UKs biggest company. BP will hold a 60% equity
interest, and Amaco 40%.
Called BP Amaco plc, the firm will be one of the most comprehensive and competitive energy and
petrochemical enterprises in the world, according to Amaco. The merger shoots BP Amaco into the rank
of the top three energy majors, along with Royal Dutch/Shell and Exxon Crop.

BPs International Human Resources Management (IHRM) (Chater-9)

Recruitment Policy:An organizations overall strategies and HR policies need to be closely integrated with chosen recruitment
strategies in order to achieve desirable outcomes. Organizations seeking culture change may favor
external recruitment options while those which desire commitment and high quality may favor largely
internal recruitment or an appropriate blend of both options. The choices may change from time to time,
reflecting the needs of organizations at different stages. Strategies BP use are:

Ethnocentric Staffing Approach:BP largely favors internal recruitment of senior managers by focusing on the internal talent pool which
exists within. This is evident with senior management appointments from within the company over the
years. The strength and experience of its management team has allowed promotion of internal candidates
to important more senior roles and created continuing growth opportunities within the company.
Global Staffing Approach:BP is making increased use of e-recruitment techniques through internet and intranet. Professional
networking sites (PNS) such as LinkedIn where senior management jobs are posted, has been frequently
used as well as BPs corporate career website. Also increasingly being used as part of the recruitment
process are partner websites which specify the required competencies. Competency-based recruitment
methods provides a unique opportunity to create and shape a recruitment system based on competencies
that have been identified within the organization as being critical for success in the targeted job or role.
Polycentric Approach
When recruiting externally, BP makes use of external recruitment partners to assist with recruitment of
senior management staff. These partners offer BP a range of services - attracting candidates, managing
candidate responses, screening and short listing, or running assessment centers on the BPs behalf. BP
has systems in place to ensure its recruitment partners develop a good understanding of BP and its
requirements. This is essential because employers and agencies that are committed to collaborative
partnerships are more likely to achieve positive results.

BP has consistently focused on projecting its brand as an environmentally friendly company looking to the
future and alternative fuel sources. When BP in 2001 renamed itself BP, they also adopted the tagline
Beyond Petroleum to signal a focus outside the oil business. This is a visionary and inspiring way of
moving the brand in a positive direction, creating purpose and adding value. This attracts top talent in
many different fields, sharing that vision and outlook.

Porters Five Forces (Chapter:-6)

In analyzing the competitive environment of the BP, as earlier stated, a very useful tool to consider is the
five forces model of competition.
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY: The level of competitive rivalry is high; the industry is characterized by big
companies which produce low differentiated products and there is low threat of substitute and also low
threat of new entrance into the oil and gas industry.
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANCE: The threat of entrance into the oil and gas industry is Low due to the fact
that there is high barrier of entrance into the industry.
POWER OF THE SUPPLIER: The bargaining power of suppliers is Medium and this is because there is
the suppliers according to oil and gas statistics show that there are quite a number of suppliers.

POWER OF BUYERS: The balance of power shifts toward buyers. Oil is a commodity and one
company's oil is not that much different from another companys and this leads buyers to go in favor of
lower prices and or better contract terms.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES: Threat of substitutes is Low and the Substitutes for the oil and gas industry
includes alternative fuels such as coal, gas, solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity and nuclear energy
which is still in the developing phase

BPs Facts and figures

Revenue:US$ 358.7 billion (2014)

Operating income:- US$ 6.412 billion (2014)
Profit:US$ 4.003 billion (2014)
Total assets:US$ 284.3 billion (2014)
Total equity:US$ 112.6 billion (2014)
Number of employees :84,500 (2014)

Company Website address

http://www.bp.com

Bibliography:
http://www.bp.com/
http://www.famouslogos.us/bp-logo/
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/BP
http://www.counterpunch.org/2010/06/16/a-short-history-of-bp/
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/the-british-petroleum-company-plc-history/

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