BP

William Knox D’Arcy obtained a 60-year concession to explore for oil in Persia, the starting point of BP’s history.⁠[1]

Explorers struck oil at Masjid-i-Suleiman in Persia.⁠[1]

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was incorporated on April 14, 1909; the UK companies register still records this date as the incorporation date of BP P.L.C.⁠[1][2]

The company agreed to supply oil to the Royal Navy under a deal with the British Admiralty, and the UK government took a 51% stake in the company.⁠[1]

The company acquired the “BP” brand from a seized German firm.⁠[1]

After Persia became Iran, the company was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.⁠[1]

By 1950 the company had built what was then the world’s largest oil refinery, at Abadan. On May 2, 1951, Iran’s oil industry was nationalised after the Majlis passed a proposal to take over all of the company’s installations; the oil dispute was not settled until late 1954, when an agreement was reached with the oil companies.⁠[3]

The company was renamed the British Petroleum Company.⁠[1]

In 1964 the company received its first UK North Sea licence, and in 1965 it discovered the West Sole gas field. On December 27 of that year the Sea Gem rig sank, killing 14 men.⁠[1]

The company found oil at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in 1969 and discovered the Forties field in the North Sea in 1970.⁠[1]

The UK government sold its shares in stages from 1977; the final tranche was sold in October 1987, completing privatisation.⁠[1]

On August 11, 1998, BP announced an all-share acquisition of Amoco valued at about $48 billion, exchanging 3.97 new BP ordinary shares (in the form of American depositary receipts) for each Amoco share; the combined company was to be called BP Amoco PLC, based in London, with BP shareholders holding about 60%.⁠[4]

The UK companies register shows the company’s legal name changing from “THE BRITISH PETROLEUM COMPANY P.L.C.” to “BP AMOCO P.L.C.” on December 31, 1998.⁠[2]

In 2000 the company acquired ARCO and Burmah Castrol, and Castrol became its flagship lubricants business. In July that year BP Amoco became BP; the companies register shows the legal name “BP AMOCO P.L.C.” in use until May 1, 2001, after which the company is BP P.L.C.⁠[1][2]

BP’s Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico, still under development and not yet producing, had been evacuated ahead of Hurricane Dennis; on the morning of July 11, 2005, it was found listing by an estimated 20 to 30 degrees. BP said the cause was unknown and that there had been no leaks of oil or other hazardous materials, suggesting the listing might be due to excess water in its ballast tanks.⁠[5][6]

An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people, and oil flowed from the Macondo well for 87 days.⁠[1]

BP sold its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft and in return gained a 19.75% interest in Rosneft.⁠[1]

US District Judge Carl Barbier approved, in a final judgment, BP’s $20.8 billion settlement with the US Justice Department, five Gulf states and hundreds of local governments, the largest environmental settlement in US government history; BP was to pay about $379.3 million a year from 2017 through 2031.⁠[7]

New chief executive Bernard Looney announced BP’s new ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner; the company also dismantled its existing upstream and downstream segments and reorganised into a new structure of 11 teams.⁠[8]

Ahead of Hurricane Ida, BP evacuated personnel and shut in production at its Atlantis, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms.⁠[9]

BP announced it would exit its 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft, and chief executive Bernard Looney and the other BP-nominated director, Bob Dudley, resigned from the Rosneft board with immediate effect.⁠[10]

Bernard Looney stepped down on September 12, 2023, after admitting he had not fully disclosed past relationships with colleagues. Murray Auchincloss, who had been serving as interim chief executive, was appointed permanent chief executive on January 17, 2024.⁠[11]

At a Capital Markets Update in London, BP said it planned to raise oil and gas investment to $10 billion a year through 2027 while cutting investment in transition businesses to $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year. Auchincloss said the company had “fundamentally reset” its strategy.⁠[12]

BP’s board announced the appointment of Meg O’Neill, CEO of Woodside Energy since April 2021, as BP’s next chief executive effective April 1, 2026; Murray Auchincloss stepped down as chief executive and director effective December 18, 2025, with Carol Howle serving as interim chief executive.⁠[13]

Meg O’Neill took over as chief executive in April 2026, becoming BP’s fifth chief executive since 2020.⁠[13][14]

BP’s board unanimously dismissed Albert Manifold as chair and director with immediate effect, citing “serious concerns” about governance standards, oversight and conduct without disclosing details. Manifold had succeeded Helge Lund as chair in July 2025; Ian Tyler, an independent non-executive director since April 2025, became interim chair.⁠[15]

The strategy O’Neill set out comprised five priorities: further strengthening the balance sheet, simplifying the portfolio, tightening investment discipline, improving operational performance, and creating structures for faster decision-making and greater accountability.⁠[14]

BP named Ian Tyler, a former chief executive of Balfour Beatty, as its permanent chair.⁠[14]

On October 8, 2026, BP said it had evacuated all personnel from its Na Kika and Thunder Horse platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and shut in production; at the time about 63% of US Gulf oil output and about 57% of its natural gas output were shut in. The facilities BP and Shell evacuated were mainly deepwater platforms close to the storm’s path.⁠[16][17]

Late on October 10, BP said it was working to restart production at Na Kika and Thunder Horse and was returning non-essential personnel to its Argos, Atlantis and Mad Dog platforms.⁠[18]

BP’s website lists Meg O’Neill as chief executive and Ian Tyler as chair. The company is registered in England, with its registered office at 1 St James’s Square, London.⁠[19][2]

BP: Official website: https://www.bp.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[20]

X: Official account: https://x.com/bp_plc (opens in a new window)⁠[20]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bp (opens in a new window)⁠[20]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Official account: https://www.youtube.com/bp (opens in a new window)⁠[20]