British Petrochemical Corporation registered on April 14, 1909, as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, Ltd. It was named the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Ltd., in 1935 and changed its name to the British Petroleum Company Limited in 1954. The current name was adopted in 1982.
The companys headquarters are in London. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was formed in 1909 to take over and finance an oil-field concession granted in 1901 by the Iranian government to an English investor, William Knox DArcy. (Britannica) In 1914 the British government became the companys principal stockholder and over the years was usually the largest single stockholder. Effective January 1, 1955, British Petroleum became a holding company. In the beginning of the 1977 the British government reduced its ownership of BP by selling shares to the public, and in the late 1980s the government turned over BP entirely to private ownership by selling its remaining shares of the company. In 1987 BP acquired the remainder of the Standard Oil Company for almost $8 billion reinforcing its position as one of the largest oil companies in the world.
Amoco Corporation formerly Standard Oil Company, American petroleum corporation, was founded in 1889 by the Standard Oil trust to direct the refining and marketing of oil in the Midwestern states. The companys first refinery, outside Whiting, Ind., produced fuel oil, kerosene, and other petroleum products. Around 1910 Standard Oil developed the cracking process, which became the most important method fro producing gasoline from petroleum. In 1911 the U.S. Supreme Court dissolved the nationwide Standard Oil trust, and Standard Oil (Indiana) became independent. Its headquarters are in Chicago.
(Britannica) In the 1920 Standard Oil acquired partial interest in companies that owned Midwestern oil fields and pipeline networks in order to add production to its refining and marketing operations. In the 1950s Standard Oil became active in oil exploration and production ventures in South America and the Middle East. In 1961 most of the companys U.S. operating activities were unified in the American oil company, for which Standard Oil (Indiana) served as a holding company. The byname Amoco was increasingly used as a brand and corporate name. In 1985 the Standard Oil Company (Indiana) became officially the Amoco Corporation.
On December 30,1998, BP and Amoco confirmed that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has granted regulatory approval for the merger of the two companies and that completion of the deal will take place at year-end. Both companies agreed to intend to close the transaction shortly after 2100 hours London time on December 31, 1998, when Amocos stock will leave the Standard & Poor 500 and the shares of the merged group, BP Amoco p.l.c., will be listed on the London Stock Exchange. With a market capitalization of more than $140 billion, BP Amoco p.l.c. is the Britains biggest company and one of the worlds top three oil majors. “We aim to play a leading role in meeting the worlds needs for oil, gas, solar power and petrochemicals without damaging the environment.”
BP AMOCOS WORLD
The BP Amoco group stands out as a complete provider of energy and petrochemicals. Every day they serve millions of customers with products to the quality of their lives fuel for transport, energy for heat and light, solar power, and petrochemicals for plastics, fibres and fabrics.
Explorers from Amoco and BP have led the way in finding the worlds giant oil and gas fields and getting energy to the worlds marketplace. According to Larry Fuller and Peter Sutherland, co-chairmen, the meeting the demand of energy calls for a blend of outstanding human and technical skills, sophisticated global organization and two-way relationships with local communities, customers, contractors, partners, government and employees. BP Amocos aim is to be successful in everything they do by delivering outstanding performance. Their business is about discovery about finding, producing and marketing the natural energy resources on which the modern world depends. Their sales revenues, market value, and oil and gas reserves make BP Amoco one of the three largest integrated energy companies in the world. They operate in one hundred countries on six continents.
Each day they generate almost three million barrels of oil equivalent production, of which sixty-five percent is oil and thirty-five percent natural gas. They have well-established operations in Europe, North and South America, Australia and much of Africa. BP Amoco is distinguished by the financial resources to operate on a global scale, the technical capacity to seize opportunities, and a flexible management structure. The core of their business is a world-class set of assets. In Britain they are the largest producer of oil and gas from the North Sea and West of Shetland.
In the United States they are one of the largest producers of oil and gas, based on major assets in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and Alaska. In South America they are the largest international oil and gas investors in Argentina, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. BP Amocos transport network criss-crosses the globe. They operate 23,000 miles of pipeline, most of it in the United States. They also control an international tanker fleet of more than thirty-five vessels, either fully owned or on long-term charter. Natural gas can be used as a fuel with minimal processing, but crude oil needs to be refined before it becomes a fuel that can power vehicles, ships and places or be turned into heating oil for industry and commerce.
The cost of running refineries means that each of the eighteen facilities they wholly or partly own must be highly competitive and efficient. Once refining is completed, the different products are moved to storage terminals by ship, barge, pipeline or rail. From there they are usually delivered to customers by road tankers. Every day they sell or trade 4.4 million barrels of refined products.
On land, on the sea and in the air, BP Amoco products help to keep the world moving. Each day they serve tem million customers worldwide. Products are marketed under the red, white and blue Amoco Brand in the United States and under the green and yellow BP brand in the rest of the world. In the United States, BP Amoco has about fifteen thousand service stations.
They are a leading supplier of premium gasoline in America. Outside North America they have a worldwide network of 11,500 service stations. They operate in about one hundred countries. BP Amoco is also one of the worlds largest marketers of aviation fuel and a major supplier of fuels and lubricants to the global shipping industry.
Customers can call for their fueling services at more than eight hundred ports and six hundred airports. BP Amoco is the worlds third largest petrochemicals company, based on a diverse, highly integrated product portfolio and strong marketing positions in North America, Europe and the Far East. BP Amoco operates large-scale chemicals manufacturing plants in the United States, Britain, Belgium, France, Germany and Brazil. Thirteen joint-venture projects in seven countries give BP Amoco a powerful platform for expansion in Asia, including China, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia.
BP Amoco holds leading position is seven core products acetic acid, acrylonitrile, aromatics, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), alpha-olefins, purified isophthalic acid (PIA) and polypropylene. BP Amoco is the worlds largest producer of PTA, which is used to manufacture polyester, and polybutene from which engine oil and lubricants are made. They also produce raw materials for plastics such as polystyrene and polyethylene the versatile polymer use in products from food packing to gas pipes. Another of their products, polypropylene, is the source of a variety of everyday products. Other BP Amoco chemical products are used for applications as diverse as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, packaging, coatings, adhesives, fuel additives, cable insulation, microfilm, cassette tapes, and synthetic rubber.
WHAT THEY STAND FOR
The merger of BP and Amoco combines the resources, skills and experience of two great companies, companies that already share similar values and policies.
