BP is one of the world’s largest international oil companies. It was formed as BP Amoco in 1998 when British Petroleum Company merged with Amoco Corporation, a major petroleum company in the United States. BP Amoco changed its name to BP plc (public limited company) in 2001. BP is involved in all stages of the petroleum industry. It searches for and develops new sources of natural gas and oil. The company also refines, markets, and distributes petroleum products. In addition, BP is involved in plastics and other petrochemicals (chemicals made from petroleum or natural gas).
Amoco Corporation was founded in 1889 as the Standard Oil Company of Indiana. It was renamed Amoco Corporation in 1957. British Petroleum was formed in 1909 to develop a major oil discovery in Persia (now Iran). This discovery was the first of its kind in the Middle East. Beginning in the late 1960’s, British Petroleum became a leading developer of oil and gas fields in other parts of the world, notably Alaska and the North Sea.
The company’s reputation for safety suffered in the 2000’s. An explosion at a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas, in 2005 led to the deaths of 15 people. Many other people were injured. In 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) imposed a fine of more than $50 million for safety violations that continued unchecked at the Texas refinery years after the explosion. In April 2010, an oil rig leased by BP, Deepwater Horizon, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, killing 11 workers. Oil from an underwater well began pouring into the Gulf. BP set up a fund to compensate people affected by the spill, including workers in the fishing and tourism industries. The well was completely sealed by September 2010.
In November 2012, BP agreed to pay fines of $4.5 billion to the federal government. The company also pleaded guilty to several criminal charges, including 11 counts of felony manslaughter relating to the workers killed in the accident. Two BP employees were charged with manslaughter, and a third was charged with lying to authorities. In December 2012, the court approved a class-action settlement against BP brought by more than 100,000 businesses and individuals who claimed losses related to the oil spill. BP estimated the cost to settle those claims at more than $7.8 billion.
Following a civil trial, a federal judge in 2014 found BP guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct. The court determined that BP was chiefly responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster and liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. According to the court, 134 million gallons (507 million liters) of oil had spilled into the Gulf. In 2015, BP agreed in a final settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to pay a record $20.8 billion in penalties for its role in the oil spill disaster. The settlement includes billions of dollars for ecosystem restoration in five Gulf Coast states. In 2016, a federal judge in New Orleans, Louisiana, granted final approval of the settlement. BP has estimated that the spill will cost the oil giant more than $53 billion.
BP owns thousands of miles or kilometers of pipelines and tens of thousands of service stations worldwide. It also owns or shares ownership in a number of petroleum refineries. The company is headquartered in London.
See also Gulf oil spill of 2010 .
