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BP is a major UK oil and gas company which finds, extracts, refines and sells oil and natural gas. Formerly known as British Petroleum, it ranks among the industry’s so-called ‘supermajors’ alongside other global titans such as Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil. Its turnover totalled $375,517m in 2011, with the refining and marketing business contributing around 90% of this.
It owns the Wild Bean Café chain, a quick-serve provider of coffee, baked goods and sandwiches, located at some BP Connect stores.
The company’s products include petrol, liquefied petroleum gas and motor oil, and are used by consumers and businesses in more than 80 countries around the world. As well as onshore and offshore oil and gas assets with proven reserves of over 18 million barrels of oil equivalent, it owns 16 refineries and 22,100 retail petrol stations.
It is organised into five main business units:
Alternative energy
While its primary focus is on oil and gas, the company is also diversifying its portfolio with more environmentally-friendly alternatives such as biofuels, solar and wind.
Corporate functions
This comprises all back office functions (such as IT, finance and HR) that are integral to the business.
Integrated supply and trading
The company’s supply chain unit, which transports tankers of oil, gas and refined petroleum around the globe. It also has a stock market/commercial function, overseeing the paper trades for oil, natural gas, currencies and metals.
Refining and marketing
This unit refines, transports, markets and distributes BP products to customers in 100 markets, including gasoline, marine and aviation fuels and aromatics and acetyls (the raw materials used to make everything from polyester, plastic bottles and medicines).
Upstream
This unit is focused on finding and developing oil and gas and making them ready for sale.
In terms of its branding, the company owns a number of major brands in addition to the eponymous BP, including:
Much of BP’s strategy in the past year has been driven by the explosion at its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010; this incident, and the oil spill that followed, have led the company to increase its focus on safety and environmental responsibility. As part of this, it has restructured its exploration and production division into three key areas – developments, exploration and production – to help improve risk management and standardise operations.
Aside from this, the company has also announced various new investments to be made over the coming years, including 32 new upstream projects that will start before 2016, and a £4b investment in the UK North Sea alone. It has also committed to investing $8b in its alternative energy business over the coming decade, and $500m in a new bioscience facility to help boost its renewable fuel capabilities.
Starting salaries are determined by individuals’ experience and academic qualifications, and range from £32,000 to £34,000. Those with postgraduate qualifications will receive slightly more, though no exact figure is disclosed.
Salaries are subject to biannual review, and may increase if performance targets are met.
BP’s culture has come under close scrutiny in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, particularly in terms of its attitude to safety. Chief executive Bob Dudley, who was appointed following the accident at the Deepwater Horizon rig, has laid heavy emphasis on the need for change, and has introduced new procedures to help reflect this. Among these is a revised performance management scheme which requires all employees to set yearly goals for their own approach to safety, compliance and risk management.
Employees say that the company culture is very ‘open’ and that the working environment is ‘relaxed’; the hierarchy is not rigid, and managers are approachable and supportive towards graduates and interns. As well as being able to seek help and advice whenever needed, current and former staff also say that they feel (or felt) appreciated by colleagues, and that their knowledge and contributions are (or were) valued. Employees also state that they have a great deal of freedom to manage their workload. However, it is a performance-driven culture, and a high level of responsibility is given early on, so a strong work ethic is needed.
BP’s culture has come under close scrutiny following the accident at the Deepwater Horizon rig.
The company itself seeks to gauge employees’ opinions through an annual survey, the findings of which are used to identify any areas for improvement or review. The survey wasn’t run in 2010 due to organisational changes, but in 2009 it found that:
Most employees report having a good work life balance at BP, due in part to the availability of flexible working options. Actual working hours will vary, particularly for those working offshore or on other operational sites, but generally hours for office-based roles seem to be typical office hours. Some extra hours may need to be put in here and there, though again this will depend on the role, the site and the projects worked on.
The social scene also seems to help to support a good work/life balance; there are various sporting activities which run regularly at most sites, including cricket, football, rugby, squash and tennis matches. For less sporty types, there are also various social events such as pub outings and theatre trips, which are usually organised on an ad-hoc basis by employees themselves.
There are volunteering opportunities for the more public-spirited; as well as supporting various charities, BP also encourages its employees to get involved in charity work by:
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