It has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.

8 million barrels of oil equivalent

per day and has 22,400 service stations worldwide. Its largest division is BP America, which
is the biggest producer of oil and gas in the United States and is headquartered in Houston,
Texas. As at 31 December 2009 it had total proven commercial reserves of 18.3 billion
barrels of oil equivalent. The name "BP" derives from the initials of one of the company's
former legal names, British Petroleum.

BP has been involved in a number of environmental, safety and political controversies during
its history, including the 1965 Sea Gem incident and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100
Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

History
Activity in 1909–1979

A 1922 BP advertisement

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

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

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

Mossadeq was replaced by pro-Western general Fazlollah Zahedi and the Shah, who returned
to Iran after having left the country briefly to await the outcome of the coup. The Shah
abolished the democratic Constitution and assumed autocratic powers.

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

The AIOC became the British Petroleum Company in 1954. In 1959 the company expanded
beyond the Middle East to Alaska and in 1965 it was the first company to strike oil in the
North Sea.[25] In 1978 the company acquired a controlling interest in Standard Oil of Ohio or
Sohio, a breakoff of the former Standard Oil that had been broken up after anti-trust
litigation.[26]

It continued to operate in Iran until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The new regime of
Ayatollah Khomeini confiscated all of the company’s assets in Iran without compensation,
bringing to an end its 70-year presence in Iran.

1980s and 1990s

Classic shield logo, designed by Raymond Loewy and used from 1989 to 2002

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

Walters was replaced by Robert Horton in 1989. Horton carried out a major corporate down-
sizing exercise removing various tiers of management at the Head Office.
Standard Oil of California and Gulf Oil merged in 1984, the largest merger in history at that
time. Under the antitrust regulation, SoCal divested many of Gulf's operating subsidiaries,
and sold some Gulf stations and a refinery in the eastern United States British Petroleum
bought many of the stations in the Southeastern United States.

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

21st century

British Petroleum merged with Amoco (formerly Standard Oil of Indiana) in December 1998,
becoming BP Amoco plc. In 2000, BP Amoco acquired Arco (Atlantic Richfield Co.) and
Burmah Castrol plc As part of the merger's brand awareness, helped the Tate Modern British
Art launch RePresenting Britain 1500-2000 In 2001 the company formally renamed itself as
BP plc and adopted the tagline "Beyond Petroleum," which remains in use today. It states that
BP was never meant to be an abbreviation of its tagline. Most Amoco stations in the United
States were converted to BP's brand and corporate identity. In many states BP continued to
sell Amoco branded petrol even in service stations with the BP identity as Amoco was rated
the best petroleum brand by consumers for 16 consecutive years and also enjoyed one of the
three highest brand loyalty reputations for petrol in the US, comparable only to Chevron and
Shell. In May 2008, when the Amoco name was mostly phased out in favour of "BP Gasoline
with Invigorate", promoting BP's new additive, the highest grade of BP petrol available in the
United States was still called Amoco Ultimate.

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

In April 2004, BP decided to move most of its petrochemical businesses into a separate entity
called Innovene within the BP Group. BP sought to sell the new company possibly via an
initial public offering (IPO) in the US, and filed IPO plans for Innovene with the New York
Stock Exchange on 12 September 2005. On 7 October 2005 BP announced that it had agreed
to sell Innovene to INEOS, a privately held UK chemical company for $9 billion, thereby
scrapping its plans for the IPO

In 2005, BP announced that it would be leaving the Colorado market. Many locations were
re-branded as Conoco.
Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston has BP America's headquarters

In 2006, when Chevron Corporation gave exclusive rights to the Texaco brand name in the
U.S. Texaco sold most of the BP gas stations in the southeast. BP has recently looked to grow
its oil exploration activities in frontier areas such as the former Soviet Union for its future
reserves. In Russia, BP owns 50% of TNK-BP with the other half owned by three Russian
billionaires. TNK-BP accounts for a fifth of BP's global reserves, a quarter of BP's
production, and nearly a tenth of its global profits.

In 2007, BP sold its corporate-owned convenience stores, typically known as "BP Connect",
to local franchisees and jobbers

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

On 1 April 2010, Chevron purchased some BP gas stations in Mississippi and changed them
to the Texaco brand.

On July 27, 2010, BP confirmed that Bob Dudley would replace Tony Hayward as the
company's CEO

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

The Board Members are:

 Carl-Henric Svanberg – Chairman

 Byron Grote – Chief Financial Officer
 Andy Inglis – Chief executive, Exploration and Production
 Antony Burgmans – Non-executive director, board of Mauritshuis, AEGON, Unilever
 Cynthia Carroll – Non-executive director, CEO of Anglo American, also board of De
Beers
 Sir William Castell – Non-executive director chairman of The Prince’s Trust
 Paul Anderson – Non-executive director
 Robert Dudley – CEO (as of October 1, 2010)
 Iain Conn
 George David vice-chairman of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
 Ian Davis – Non-executive director
 Douglas Flint, CBE director HSBC
 Dr DeAnne Julius, director of Chatham House
 David Jackson, company secretary

Financial data

Chart of the major energy companies dubbed "Big Oil" sorted by latest published revenue
Financial data in millions of US$
Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Sales 180,186 236,045 294,849 249,465 265,906 284,365 361,341 239,272
EBITDA 22,941 28,200 37,825 41,453 44,835
Net Results 6,845 10,267 15,961 22,341 22,000 20,845 21,157 16,578
Net Debt 20,273 20,193 21,607 16,202 16,202

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

A Gulf petrol station in Louisville, Kentucky using the previous BP prototype. BP purchased
all Gulf stations in the southeastern United States in 1980s after Chevron, Inc. was forced to
divest the stations by the United States Justice Department.

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

Solar panel made by BP Solar

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

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

BP Solar is a leading producer of solar panels since its purchase of Lucas Energy Systems in
1980 and Solarex (as part of its acquisition of Amoco) in 2000. BP Solar had a 20% world
market share in photovoltaic panels in 2004 when it had a capacity to produce 90 MW/year of
panels. It has over 30 years' experience operating in over 160 countries with manufacturing
facilities in the U.S., Spain, India and Australia, and has more than 2000 employees
worldwide. BP has closed its US plants in Frederick, Maryland as part of a transition to
manufacturing in China. This is due in part to China's upswing in solar use and the
protectionist laws that require 85% of the materials to be produced in China. Through a series
of acquisitions in the solar power industry BP Solar became the third largest producer of solar
panels in the world. It was recently announced that BP has obtained a contract for a pilot
project to provide on-site solar power to Wal-Mart stores.

Climate change

BP was a founding sponsor of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit in
1971, the research unit that was at the center of the Climategate scandal in November 2009.

BP Amoco 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."

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

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

1993–1995: Hazardous substance dumping

In September 1999, one of BP’s US subsidiaries, BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA), agreed to

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

2006–2007: Prudhoe Bay

Main article: Prudhoe Bay oil spill

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

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

On 16 October 2007 Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials reported a

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

2010: Texas City chemical leak

Two weeks prior to the Deepwater Horizon explosion BP admitted that malfunctioning
equipment lead to the release of over 530,000 lbs of chemicals into the air of Texas City and
surrounding areas from April 6 to May 16. The leak included 17,000 pounds of benzene (a
known carcinogen), 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides (which contribute to respiratory
problems), and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide.

2010: Deepwater Horizon oil spill

Main articles: Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Deepwater Horizon explosion

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

On 20 April 2010, the semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon
exploded after a blowout; it sank two days later, killing 11 people. This blowout in the
Macondo Prospect field in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a partially capped oil well one mile
below the surface of the water. Experts estimate the gusher to be flowing at 35,000 to 60,000
barrels per day (5,600 to 9,500 m3/d) of oil. The exact flow rate is uncertain due to the
difficulty of installing measurement devices at that depth and is a matter of ongoing debate.
The resulting oil slick covers at least 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2), fluctuating from day to
day depending on weather conditions. It threatens the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Texas, and Florida.

The drilling rig was owned and operated by Transocean Ltd on behalf of BP, which is the
majority owner of the Macondo oil field. At the time of the explosion, there were 126 crew
on board; seven were employees of BP and 79 of Transocean. There were also employees of
various other companies involved in the drilling operation, including Anadarko, Halliburton
and M-I Swaco.

The U.S. Government has named BP the responsible party, and officials have committed to
hold the company accountable for all cleanup costs and other damage. BP has stated that it
would harness all of its resources to battle the oil spill, spending $7 million a day with its
partners to try to contain the disaster. In comparison, BP's 1st quarter profits for 2010 were
approximately $61 million per day. BP has agreed to create a $20 billion spill response fund
administered by Kenneth Feinberg. The amount of this fund is not a cap or a floor on BP's
liabilities. BP will pay $3 billion in third quarter of 2010 and $2 billion in fourth quarter into
the fund followed by a payment of $1.25 billion per quarter until it reaches $20 billion. In the
interim, BP posts its US assets worth $20 billion as bond. For the fund's payments, BP will
cut its capital spending budget, sell $10 billion in assets, and drop its dividend. BP has also
been targeted in litigation over the claims process it put in place for victims. A class action
lawsuit was filed against BP and its initial claims administrator, the ACE, Ltd. Insurance
Group company ESIS.

BP began testing the tighter-fitted cap designed to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf of
Mexico from a broken well for the first time in almost three months. The test began
Wednesday, July 14 with BP shutting off pipes that were funnelling some of the oil to ships
on the surface, so the full force of the gusher went up into the cap.[ Then deep-sea robots
began slowly closing — one at a time — three openings in the cap that let oil pass through.
Ultimately, the flow of crude was stopped. All along, engineers were and still are watching
pressure readings to learn whether the well is intact Former coast guard admiral Thad Allen,
the Obama administration's point man on the disaster, said the government gave the testing
go-ahead after carefully reviewing the risks. "What we didn't want to do is compound that
problem by making an irreversible mistake," he said.

Stock decline and takeover speculations

After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill BP's stock fell by 52% in 50 days on the New York
Stock Exchange, going from $60.57 on 20 April 2010, to $29.20 on June 9, its lowest level
since August 1996.
Approximately 40% of BP shares are held by UK shareholders, and 39% in the USA. BP's
UK dividends represent approximately one-seventh of all dividend payments in the UK and
form the basis of many pension schemes.

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

There are speculations in the press, based chiefly on comments from Fred Lucas, Energy
Analyst at J.P. Morgan Cazenove, that there would be a takeover of the company, focusing
on possible bids from Exxon or Shell at a presumed price of £88 billion. In addition, BP
executives have held talks with a number of sovereign wealth funds including ones from Abu
Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Singapore, for creation of a strategic partnership to avoid takeover
by other major oil companies. BP has either rejected or refused to react to these overtures.

Following the Oil Spill, on July 27, 2010, BP announced a net loss of $16.97 billion during
the second quarter of 2010, with the oil spill costing $32.2 billion so far. Also on July 27,
2010, BP confirmed that CEO Hayward would resign and be replaced by Bob Dudley on
October 1, 2010.

Mist mountain project

There have been some calls by environmental groups for BP to halt its "Mist Mountain"
Coalbed Methane Project in the Southern Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and for the
UN to investigate the mining activities. The proposed 500 km² project is directly adjacent to
the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Canadian oil sands

BP is one of numerous firms who are extracting oil from Canadian oil sands, a process that
produces four times as much CO2 as conventional drilling. The Cree First Nation describe
this as 'the biggest environmental crime on the planet'.

Safety record
1965: Sea Gem offshore oil rig disaster

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

2005: Texas City Refinery explosion

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

The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BP's corporate image because of the
mismanagement at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most
recent being that from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board 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.

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

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 revealed in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been
previously cited but not fixed and 439 new violations. BP is appealing that fine. (see
#Environmental record).

2006–2010: Refinery fatalities and safety violations

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

Under scrutiny after the Texas City Refinery explosion, two BP-owned refineries in Texas
City, and Toledo, were responsible for 97 percent (829 of 851) of wilful safety violations by
oil refiners between June 2007 and February 2010, as determined by inspections by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jordan Barab, deputy assistant secretary of
labour at OSHA, said "The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic
safety problem in their company."[109]

2009: North Sea helicopter accident

On 1 April 2009, a Bond Offshore Helicopters Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma ferrying
workers from BP's platform in the Miller oilfield in the North Sea off Scotland crashed in
good weather killing all 16 on board.[110][111]

2010: Deepwater Horizon well explosion

The 20 April 2010 explosion on BP's offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in
the death of eleven people and caused the biggest accidental marine oil spill in the history of
the petroleum industry.[112][113][114]

Political record
2007: Propane price manipulation

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

2008: Oil price manipulation

In May 2010, the Supreme Court of Arbitration of the Russian Federation agreed in support
of the country’s antimonopoly service’s decision to a 1.1 billion Ruble fine ($35.2 million)
against TNK/BP, a 50/50 joint venture, for abusing antitrust legislation and setting artificially
high oil products prices in 2008, TNK and BP declined comment.[117]

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline

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

Colombian pipeline

In July 2006, a group of Colombian farmers won a multi million pound settlement from BP
after 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.

Contributions to political campaigns

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

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

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

BP is one of the few Western energy companies with major investments in Russia, a country
which has failed to obey the Energy Charter Treaty. It has been subject to controversies. In
2008 Igor Sechin, a former GRU agent and later official in Vladimir Putin's government, did
private negotiations with BP CEO.

A report observed in January 2009

Disruption to EU gas supplies in January 2009 - as Ukraine quarrelled with Russia

and pipelines were shut down - exposed EU reliance on Russian gas. A dependence
that does not support EU energy security, but does support BP's financial security.
That financial security depends on BP maintaining its position as a bridge between
Russian resources and EU customers. Given the company's turbulent relationships in
Russia, BP draws on the EU to help it maintain that position. The EU assists BP
because, while it may not be in the long term interests of the EU to depend upon
Russian gas, EU energy policy currently relies on it. Without BP, it would have to
rely on Russian state companies, most notably Gazprom. As TNK-BP is currently the
only major oil and gas company in Russia with no state involvement, and the only
major energy company in the country not majority-controlled by Russians, it is a key
partner for the EU.

BP's Russian joint venture filed bankcrupty in June 2010.

In 2003 The Guardian published intelligence reports that the GRU has allocated money
towards hiring or training eco-warriors and mercenaries to sabotage the 1,100-mile Baku–
Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline project, which was under construction and would have reduced
Europe's energy dependence on Russia. The consortium was headed by BP. During the 2008
war, the pipeline was a major target of Russian forces

BP corporate and retail brands

Corporate branding

A BP sign outside a service station in the United Kingdom showing the current 'Helios'
branding
A BP service station in Ohio, United States showing the previous 'Green Shield' branding

In 2000 BP Amoco changed its name to BP, introduced a new corporate slogan - “Beyond
Petroleum” - and replaced its “Green Shield” logo with the Helios symbol, a green and
yellow sunflower pattern. These changes were intended to highlight the company’s interest in
alternative and environmentally friendly fuels. In July 2006, critics pointed to the relative
lack of press coverage about a spill of 270,000 gallons of crude oil that spread into the
Alaskan tundra. Critics noted this as evidence that BP had successfully greenwashed its
image, while maintaining environmentally unsound practices.

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

BP put its plans on hold to market a fuel that is 85% Ethanol and 15% Butanol (E85B), so
existing internal combustion engines can run on a 100% renewable fuel that could be made
without using any fossile fuels. The lack of follow-through is often cited by critics as another
example of BP's greenwashing. Butanol may be used as a fuel in an internal combustion
engine, but BP has no infrastructure to produce Butanol from biomass sources. Because its
longer hydrocarbon chain causes it to be fairly non-polar, it is more similar to gasoline than it
is to ethanol. Butanol has been demonstrated to work in vehicles designed for use with
gasoline without modification. It can be produced from biomass (as "biobutanol") as well as
fossil fuels (as "petrobutanol"); but biobutanol and petrobutanol have the same chemical
properties.

BP

Until 31 December 1998 the company was formally registered as the British Petroleum
Company plc. In January 1999 following a merger the company took on the Amoco name.
The new name BP Amoco plc was retained until May 2001.[134][135] The transition to the BP
plc name was managed by BP's advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather and PR consultants,
Ogilvy PR. The change of name culminated in BP's new logo and re-branding in the first
quarter of 2001.

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

By the end of July 2010, independent BP station owners reported sales down 10 to 40 percent
in the quarter after the Gulf oil spill and, while some hoped BP would return to the Amoco
brand once used by many of the stations, others considered that would be a gamble because
BP put so much effort into the brand.

ampm

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

Aral

An Aral service station in Germany

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

ARCO

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

BP Travel Center

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

BP Connect

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

BP Express

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

In the Netherlands BP is opening unmanned stations with no shops or employees. These

stations are called BP Express Some of these stations used to be 'ordinary' BP stations, some
are new to the BP network. Apart from these stations BP Express shopping does also exist in
the Netherlands.

BP Shop

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

BP 2go
A BP 2go branded service station in Australia

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

Castrol

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

Air BP and BP Shipping

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

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

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