BP

BP p.l.c., which styles its name bp, is a British integrated oil and gas company with its worldwide headquarters at 1 St James’s Square in London. It produces oil and gas, trades energy, refines crude oil, and sells fuel and electric vehicle charging to customers. For 2025 it reported sales and other operating revenues of $189.3 billion.

History of BP

The company began with a gamble on Persia. On 28 May 1901, William Knox D’Arcy, an investor who had made a fortune from an Australian gold mine, was granted a 60-year concession to explore for oil and gas across large parts of Persia, now Iran. Drilling started in November 1902 under the explorer George Reynolds, but money ran short, and work at the first site was suspended on 23 June 1904.

With backing from Burmah Oil, the search continued, and on 26 May 1908 a well at Masjid-i-Suleiman struck oil at a depth of 1,180 feet. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was incorporated on 14 April 1909. Its refinery at Abadan, completed in 1912, became the largest in the world when it opened.

In 1914 the company was close to bankruptcy and signed a deal to supply the Royal Navy with 40 million barrels of oil over 20 years. In return it received 2 million pounds, and the British government took a 51 percent stake. The government sold its holding in stages between 1977 and 1987, and the final tranche, 31.5 percent at 3.30 pounds a share, went on sale in October 1987, just as the stock market crashed on Black Monday.

The name has changed several times. The British Petroleum brand was first created by a German firm to market products in Britain, and Anglo-Persian bought it after the British government seized that firm’s assets during the First World War. The company became Anglo-Iranian in 1935 when Persia was renamed Iran, and it took the name British Petroleum Company in December 1954, after Iran had nationalized its oil industry in 1951 and a new consortium agreement was signed.

Later decades brought new regions. BP received its first North Sea licence in September 1964, found the West Sole gas field in 1965 and the large Forties oil field in 1970. In 1969 it tapped its share of the Prudhoe Bay reservoirs in Alaska. In 1998 BP merged with the American company Amoco, and in 2000 it acquired ARCO and Burmah Castrol. That July it adopted the name BP plc and the green and yellow Helios logo.

Products and services of BP

Under its 2025 strategy, BP reports three segments: gas and low carbon energy, oil production and operations, and customers and products. The first covers natural gas, liquefied natural gas and renewable power, the second produces crude oil, including through the US shale business bpx energy, and the third covers refining, retail fuel, convenience stores, lubricants, trading and shipping.

Since 2017 BP has also built positions in lower-carbon energy. These include the solar developer Lightsource bp, the electric vehicle charging network bp pulse, the renewable natural gas business Archaea Energy, bp Biofuels, and a 50 percent share of the offshore wind developer JERA Nex bp. In 2025 its aviation fuel arm, air bp, delivered sustainable aviation fuel at more than 60 locations in 22 countries. BP describes these businesses as a small but important part of the whole.

Corporate structure and operations of BP

BP is registered in England and Wales and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol BP. In its annual report, it shows revenue before eliminations between segments of $40.3 billion for gas and low carbon energy, $24.5 billion for oil production and operations, and $148.8 billion for customers and products, which combined to a group total of $189.3 billion.

Profit attributable to BP shareholders was $0.1 billion in 2025, compared with $0.4 billion in 2024. The company also reports underlying replacement cost profit, an adjusted measure that removes the effect of inventory price changes and certain one-time items, which was $7.5 billion in 2025 and $8.9 billion in 2024. BP attributed the lower 2025 result to weaker oil prices and a lower gas marketing and trading result, partly offset by stronger performance in customers and products.

Major deals have reshaped the portfolio. In 2012 BP sold its half of the Russian joint venture TNK-BP to Rosneft for $12.48 billion in cash and 18.5 percent of Rosneft’s shares, and in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, it announced it would exit its shareholding in Rosneft. In 2018 it bought US oil and gas assets from BHP Billiton for $10.5 billion, its biggest acquisition since ARCO in 2000. The refinery at Rotterdam, which it fully owns, remains its largest in Europe.

Strategy and impact of BP

BP’s strategy has swung with the energy debate. In 1997 its chief executive, Lord Browne, gave a speech at Stanford University that acknowledged the risks of climate change, and in 2000 the company rebranded around the idea of going beyond petroleum. In 2020 it announced an ambition to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, alongside more investment in lower-carbon businesses.

In 2025 BP reset its direction again. It chose to grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus on its strongest downstream positions in key markets, and invest selectively in the energy transition. The shift shows how an integrated company balances demand for fossil fuels, the long-term decline in emissions that governments seek, and returns to shareholders. Its customer businesses also connect to the growth of the electric vehicle through charging sites.

Criticism and controversies

BP has been involved in two major industrial accidents that it describes in its own company history. On 23 March 2005, an explosion at its Texas City refinery killed 15 workers and injured more than 170. An independent safety review panel was formed that year, and BP committed to implement the panel’s 10 recommendations.

On 20 April 2010, an explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which was completing work on the Macondo well in the Gulf of America, formerly the Gulf of Mexico, killed 11 people and sank the rig, owned by Transocean. Oil flowed from the well for 87 days before it was permanently sealed. These events led to changes in safety practice across the company and the wider industry.

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 4, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue