British Petroleume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

British Petroleume - Essay Example In the United States, BP expanded its operations through the acquisition of US Standard Oil Company (Longhurst, 23-27). BP has made considerable efforts to make sure that it continues to diversify within the energy markets other than the petroleum products. It also has a 50 % stake in the solar energy company it purchased from Enron, the BP Solarex. The company markets its products to about a hundred different countries. Its turnover exceeded over US $ 239 billion in 2009 and it employs a diverse group of over 92,000 individuals. British Petroleum (BP) became Britain’s largest and the world’s third largest oil exploration company, after its acquisition of Amoco. BP focuses on the exploration and production of natural gas and oil products. It has achieved economies of scale in various segments of its business and has vertically integrated over the last two decades. The company is involved in refining oil products, marketing its own products, and handling the transportation of its products to merchandisers. Moreover, the company also markets the by-products of crude oil produced during the refining process. It is involved in the production of acetyl products, aromatics and certain polyester intermediaries. The exploration business conducts research and locates oil and natural gas sites. Once located a cost-benefit analysis determines if drilling is feasible. Once feasibility has been determined, BP engineers work on field development, after which drilling of crude oil commences. Then the crude oil moves to the refining sites. BP performs all these mid-stream and up-stream tasks by itself. Alternative energy business segment focuses on developing new technologies. It is successfully catering energy needs through production of solar and wind energy. Research on bio-fuel products is also underway and other alternative sources of energy are being developed and marketed. A key objective