British Petroleum joins Media X

FEBRUARY 15, 2005. British Petroleum (BP) is the latest major international company to join Media X.

BP is of one of the world's largest energy companies, operating in over 100 countries worldwide, with over 100,000 employees and an annual turnover in excess of $230 billion.

The company’s origins go back to May 1901, when a wealthy Englishman, William Knox D'Arcy, obtained a concession from the Shah of Persia to explore for and exploit the oil resources of the country. After several years of exploriation, funded in part by the Burmah Oil Company, in May 1908, D’Arcy struck oil in commercial quantities at Masjid-i-Suleiman in southwest Persia. It was the first commercial oil discovery in the Middle East. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (as BP was first known) was formed in 1909 to develop the oilfield. At the time of Anglo-Persian's formation, 97% of its ordinary shares were owned by the Burmah Oil Company. In 1914, the British government injected £2 million into the company, receiving in return a majority shareholding. In later years, the government shareholding was reduced, and effectively ended in 1987.

The present day BP Group includes Amoco, the US company built by John D rockerfeller, the German company Aral, ARCO, another of America’s most famous and most trusted energy brands, and US lubrication giant Castrol.

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