Definition
British Petroleum, universally known as BP, is one of the world’s largest multinational oil and gas companies, headquartered in London. Founded in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, it has operated under the BP name since 1954. The company is a vertically integrated supermajor—exploring, extracting, refining, transporting, and selling petroleum products across the globe. As of the 2020s, BP has also attempted a pivot toward renewable energy, though its core revenue remains overwhelmingly fossil-fuel-based.
Why It Matters
BP matters because it is a permanent fixture in global energy politics, environmental catastrophe, and corporate PR spin. The Deepwater Horizon explosion of 2010—an oil rig operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico—became the largest marine oil spill in history. Eleven workers died, and approximately 4.9 million barrels of crude oil contaminated the Gulf, destroying fisheries, tourism economies, and wildlife habitats across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The disaster cost BP over $65 billion in fines, settlements, and cleanup costs. It also became a touchstone for discussions about corporate accountability, regulatory capture, and the true environmental cost of offshore drilling. BP’s subsequent green rebranding—sunflower logos, “Beyond Petroleum” taglines, and investments in solar and wind—has been repeatedly criticized as greenwashing by environmental groups.
Example
In 2010, as the Deepwater Horizon well gushed uncontrollably for 87 days, BP’s CEO Tony Hayward told a reporter, “I’d like my life back.” The comment became a viral symbol of corporate indifference, forcing his resignation weeks later. Meanwhile, BP’s PR team famously attempted to downplay the spill’s severity by using dispersants like Corexit, which broke the oil into smaller droplets but increased toxicity. The documentary The Great Invisible (2014) and the film Deepwater Horizon (2016) dramatized the disaster, keeping BP’s culpability in public memory years after the news cycle moved on.
Internet Angle
BP is a recurring villain in internet discourse. On Reddit’s r/climate, r/environment, and r/latestagecapitalism, BP is shorthand for corporate ecocide. “Beyond Petroleum” became a meme target—users photoshopping the logo onto images of burning forests and flooded cities. BP’s Twitter/X account regularly faces ratio campaigns after posting sustainability content, with replies inevitably referencing Deepwater Horizon. Greenwashing watchdogs and climate activists use BP as a case study in how multinationals rebrand without reforming. In 2023, BP reported record profits of $27.7 billion while scaling back some renewable commitments, sparking renewed online outrage and “boycott BP” campaigns that trended briefly on TikTok.
Related Terms
- Deepwater Horizon — The 2010 oil rig disaster that became the defining catastrophe of BP’s corporate history
- Greenwashing — The practice of marketing environmental responsibility while continuing harmful practices
- Big Oil — The collective term for the six largest publicly traded oil and gas companies, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR) — The framework companies use to justify their ethical image, often cynically deployed
- Carbon footprint — A concept BP itself helped popularize in the 2000s, shifting responsibility for emissions onto consumers
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