BP p.l.c.

History

Year	Detail
First oil – 1901-1908
1901	William Knox D’Arcy granted a long-term 60 years of concession for searching oil and gas across Persia.
1902	Drilling works started in the Chiah Surkh mountains.
1903	D’Arcy forms the First Exploitation Company.
Early history – 1909-1924
1909	The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was formed in London and Glasgow.
1911	A 145-mile pipeline running from Tembi to the banks of river Bahmashir at Abadan has been completed.
1918	The British Tanker Company was formed.
Through World War II – 1925-1945
1927	Oil discovered in Iraq.
1932	Anglo-Persian and Royal Dutch-Shell agreed to integrate their U.K. marketing operations as Shell-Mex and BP.
1934	Two pipelines of 1,152 miles running from Kirkuk to Tripoli in Lebanon and Palestine have been completed.
1935	The Anglo-Persian Oil Company was renamed to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
1945	Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s oil production capacity has reached 345,000 barrels/day.
Post-war – 1946-1970
1946	The Iraq Petroleum Company started constructing new pipelines parallel to existing ones.
1950	Rationing of petrol has been ended in the U.K.
1954	The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was renamed to British Petroleum.
1960	The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is established.
Late century – 1971-1999
1974	As all oil-producing countries raised their stakes in the oil companies, BP’s crude production was reduced to 10% of its five-year output.
1975	First, oil arrives from BP’s Forties field.
1981	BP plc reveals a new matrix management structure that balances national companies with international business streams.
1989	BP plc introduced a frontier exploration strategy, which led to significant discoveries in countries such as Angola, Colombia, and Azerbaijan.
1996	BP plc entered the Russian market and opened its first service station in Moscow.
The new millennium – 2000-2012
2000	BP plc Amoco acquired ARCO and Burmah Castrol.
2001	The parent company changed its name from BP Amoco plc to BP plc.
2003	A 50:50 joint venture between TNK-BP was formed.
2005	BP Alternative Energy was established.
2007	BP plc takes full ownership of the Rotterdam refinery in the Netherlands.
2010	BP plc becomes the official energy partner of the U.S. Olympic Committee.