BP has been an international household name for decades.
One of the world’s largest energy
companies, it provides fuels for transport, energy for heat and light, and an array of petrochemical
products and retail services. These products and services are delivered to customers in more than
100 countries, through a range of internationally respected brands. Together, they have made BP
the global force it is today.
Market
BP’s specific areas of business include
exploration for and production of crude oil
and natural gas; refining and marketing of oil
products; manufacturing and marketing of
petrochemicals; and integrated supply and
trading. BP is also an increasingly significant
player in alternative energy and biofuels.
The relaunch of the BP brand in July 2000
proved to be a watershed in the company’s
history. Since unveiling its new ‘Helios’
mark, BP has striven to establish itself as an
environmentally-conscious brand, developing
sustainable ways to meet the world’s growing
energy demands.
Achievements
Every day, millions of people buy fuels,
lubricants and consumer items from some
1909 1940s
The Anglo-Persian After World War II, BP’s
Oil Company (as BP sales, profits, capital
was first known) expenditure and
is formed. employment all rise to
record levels as Europe
is restructured.
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25,000 BP petrol stations worldwide – a
sign of the trust placed in the company’s
collection of established brands, which
include ampm, ARCO, Aral, BP, Castrol, BP
Ultimate and Wild Bean Café.
BP wins numerous awards on an
international scale. In the UK, BP’s driver
education and carbon offsetting scheme,
targetneutral, was a winner in the Website
Category at the 2007 Clarion Awards, which
recognise the promotion of social inclusion,
CSR, sustainable development and ethical
debate. Targetneutral was recognised for
educating consumers on reducing emissions.
In addition, BP Connect, BP’s fuel and
large-format convenience store offer in the
UK, received the 2007 Multiple Forecourt
Retailer of the Year award at the Retail
Industry Awards.
1954 1965
BP Visco-Static is BP finds the West Sole
brought on to the gas field – the first
market – Europe’s offshore hydrocarbons
first multigrade oil. found in British waters.
Product
Services available at BP petrol stations
include premium fuels, convenience items,
freshly prepared food and Wild Bean Cafés.
In the UK, the company continues to roll out
its partnership with Marks & Spencer’s
Simply Food, providing selected items from
the range, alongside BP’s own offering.
BP’s premium fuel, BP Ultimate, was
originally launched in the UK in 2003 after
18 months of extensive research and is now
sold in more than 100 cities in 17 countries,
bringing cleaner, higher performing fuels to
more markets. BP Ultimate fuels clean the
engine while the vehicle is being driven,
helping to deliver more power, better fuel
economy and less pollution. BP Ultimate
Unleaded can clean up to four times more
effectively than conventional fuels, gradually
1975 1990s
BP pumps the first oil BP merges with US giant
from the North Sea’s Amoco, and the acquisitions
UK sector ashore after of ARCO, Burmah Castrol
purchasing the Forties and Veba Oil turn the
field – a development British oil company into
financed by a bank one of the world’s largest
loan of £370 million. energy companies.
removing engine deposits as well as
preventing new ones. Tests show that BP
Ultimate fuels can reduce emissions of
unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide,
nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide (Source:
Based on UK test data. Claims vary between
countries. The average power benefit for BP
Ultimate Unleaded is 3.8 per cent and the
average fuel economy benefit is an extra 13
miles per tank tested against ordinary fuels).
BP LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) has
revolutionised the gas bottle market with BP
Gas Light, a pioneering new lightweight
bottle that was first to market in many
European territories. The innovative design,
developed for the leisure market (caravans
and barbecues), has many practical benefits
including easier handling – it’s half the weight
of conventional steel bottles – and the ability
to see the level of the gas.
Recent Developments
BP launched a major new education outreach
programme, Enterprising Science, in
September 2007. Working with the Science
Museum, the programme is designed to reach
more than 400 secondary schools and around
60,000 students across the UK each year.
2000 2004
The BP brand is Aral opens the first
relaunched with the public hydrogen
unveiling of a new station in Berlin.
‘Helios’ brand mark.
It features two main components: Talk
Science, a teacher master class created and
delivered regionally by the Science Museum
for science teachers; and The Carbon
Challenge, an in-school road show focusing
on the themes of carbon footprints and
climate change for 14-16 year-olds.
In 2007, BP extended its successful driver
education and voluntary carbon offsetting
programme, targetneutral, to new markets
and some of its B2B partners. Targetneutral
allows customers to calculate their car’s CO2
emissions, and then to neutralise these
emissions by paying a fee of around £20.
This is then used to support projects that
reduce an equivalent amount of CO2.
Wild Bean Café is BP’s youngest brand. In
2007, it was given a new, contemporary look
and feel that separates Wild Bean Café more
clearly from the rest of the store, creating a
distinctive café environment. Some 150 new
Wild Bean Cafés were opened in markets
across Europe in 2007, supported by a
striking advertising campaign.
Promotion
BP makes innovative use of non-traditional
media to deepen consumer engagement with
its brands, from the breakthrough online
game Gas Mania to the Ultimate Green
Driving Test, an interactive tool that shows
drivers how their different driving techniques
impact safety, CO2 emissions and fuel
consumption.
The BP/Ford World Rally Team has won its
second consecutive manufacturers’ title in
the FIA World Rally Championship 2007, the
world’s most challenging year-long motor
sport and a win that boosted promotion of
both the BP and Castrol brands.
2005 2008
BP Alternative Energy BP announces that it
is launched, a new can continue to pump
business dedicated to the four million barrels of
development, wholesale oil per day until 2020,
marketing and trading of even without new finds.
low-carbon power.
Brand Values
In all it says and does, BP aims to be
performance driven, innovative, progressive
and green. Performance driven means setting
global standards of performance in every
area, from safety and the environment to
delivering greater satisfaction for customers
and employees.
Being innovative means using the creative
know-how of BP’s people, combined with
cutting-edge technology, to develop
breakthrough solutions to business
challenges and the needs of BP’s customers.
Progressive means BP is always looking
for new and better ways to do things. In
touch with the needs of its employees,
customers and local communities, BP aims
to be accessible, open and transparent.
Lastly, green means demonstrating
environmental leadership and overcoming
the trade-off between providing access
to heat, light and mobility and protecting
the environment.
These values combine to make up BP’s
brand theme of ‘beyond petroleum’ –
providing security of oil and gas supply
for today’s consumers, while developing
sustainable ways of meeting ever increasing
energy demands.
www.bp.com
Things you didn’t know about
BP
The first BP logo was created as a result
of an employee competition in 1920. At
this time, BP petrol stations in the UK
were branded red.
BP Solar is one of the world’s largest
manufacturers of solar panels and is one
of the largest commercial users of solar
energy in the world.
Aral’s car wash, SuperWash, uses nano-
shine particles 2,000 times thinner than
human hair.
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