Facts
BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies. BP once called British Petroleum and the Anglo- Persian Company has transitioned and went through many rebranding techniques to try to reposition itself to its stakeholders. British Petroleum changed its name to BP then Beyond Petroleum to try to focus its business values on the environmental issues that have come about due to previous issues. BP provides customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants to keep engines moving, and the petrochemicals products used to make everyday items as diverse as paints, clothes and packaging. BP, founded in 1908, by William D’Arcy has a long history of positive press and scrutiny in the media. The birth of BP was in the Middle East when D’Arcy invested all of his money into digging, looking for a fountain of oil for financial gain. Originally known as the Anglo- Persian Oil Company, the company established its first refinery in Iran, 150 miles from the mouth of the Persian Gulf. When establishing their first refinery, BP faced many problems including geographical challenges and trying to find a solution as to how they would transport the oil from the source to prime destinations. In doing so, the solution was to build a pipeline which required various resources from sources all over the world, including the United States. Due to environmental challenges, including the rugged land and difficult trenches, it was a challenge to get materials and resources needed to build the pipeline to the refinery to move forward with the process of building. After concurring and tackling hurdles, Abadan refinery became the world’s largest and most diverse refinery in the world. With workers from various countries including India, China, and Arab countries this refinery was a perfect example of advantages and the start of globalization. Producing crude oil, Abadan Refinery in Iran quickly grew problematic due to the lack of demand for crude oil. In 1914, BP faced a financial burden. Although they had plenty of oil, there was no one purchasing the crude oil. There were many uses for the oil including running automobiles, heating, and lighting but there was a counter circumstance for each. During the early 1900s cars were still extremely expensive and were not popular in the purchasing market, therefore, making the mass sell of oil challenging. In addition to the rare purchases of cars, there were other countries in Europe and the New World who were historically invested and had the oil market locked down for purchases for automobiles. The other profitable market for oil was heating and lighting for homes. Through the refining process, crude oil maintained its sulfurous smell which prevented people from using in the household due to the potent smell. The lack of demand for crude oil put BP in yet another financial downfall.
To bounce back from that economic downturn, Winston Churchill convinced the British Navy to invest in BP and become a shareholder which began the debate over the repercussions of involving politics in the oil industry. In the twentieth century, the oil industry was at its peak. The Middle East identified this growth and in 1969, Muammar al- Gaddafi decided to increase the taxes on oil exports from the Middle East. This change affected BP negatively and decreased their oil production tremendously which forced them to find new business alternatives to survive. After finding new location to dig for oil, BP moved forward on new profit. The Forties Field and Prudhoe Bay became the two main economic sources for BP. For Forties Field and Tran-Alaska pipelines, they took on two grand projects for the history of the company. One of these pipelines became the largest deep-water pipeline and the other was the largest civil engineering project in North America spanning 747 miles. During the construction of these pipelines, BP ensures stakeholders of taking to appropriate