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Partnering for progress in the Middle East
BP has numerous business interests in the UAE, both upstream (exploration and production) and downstream (refining and marketing). Its office in Abu Dhabi oversees BP’s upstream businesses in the Emirates as well as serving as the regional office for upstream operations in Kuwait, Egypt and Pakistan
The company’s downstream operations are based in its Dubai office which also oversees operations across the Middle East and South Asia
Upstream Operations
Today, BP is an active partner in four major Abu Dhabi upstream operations, namely Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco) in which it holds a 14.67 per cent interest; Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) at 9.5 per cent; Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas) at 10 per cent and Bunduq Company Limited with a 33.3 per cent shareholding.
BP Sharjah operates three gas fields in a joint venture with the government including a processing plant, gas compression facilities and two liquid export terminals. It is the largest producer, processor and seller of natural gas in the UAE.
Downstream Operations
Air BP continues to be very active in the UAE and is one of the main suppliers of aviation fuel and lubricants at Dubai and Sharjah International Airports. In Dubai, Air BP is a partner in the Emarat storage and pipeline project to build a new 112,000 metric tonne Jet storage facility in Jebel Ali and a 68km pipeline to Dubai Airport.
In Sharjah, Air BP operates an aviation fuel supply jetty and manages Sharjah Aviation Services Company, SASCO, an independent joint venture which provides fuel storage and handling services at the airport. It has also partnered with the Government of Sharjah to build a new Jet import storage facility in Hamriyah port and for the construction of a 38km pipeline to Sharjah Airport.
BP Marine is actively involved in supplying its technically advanced range of lubricants in the region and also operates a bunkering operation at Salalah Port, Oman.
BP Visco 2000 is the market leader in the international car lubricants sector in the Gulf and other countries in the region. Other popular BP brands including Castrol – the market leader in Iran – Duckhams, and Veedol are also marketed in the region.
BP is also a shareholder in Middle East Lubricants Company (MELUBCO), a joint venture with ExxonMobil, Emarat and GIBCA. Based in Jebel Ali Free Zone, MELUBCO is one of the largest and most modern lubricants blending plants in the region with a capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes per year.
BP’s IST (Integrated Supply and Trading) division maintains close relationships with producers, refiners and other trading companies in the region. Among its agreements are lifting export products from a new refinery in Sohar, Oman, and a joint venture with and Trafigura to build a new gasoline terminal and blending facility in Jebel Ali to supply Emarat with its gasoline requirements.
Source : BP Statistical
Review of World Energy 2004
Historic Ties
BP has historic ties with the Arabian Gulf as the company traces its origins to the first exploration for oil in Persia, modern day Iran, at the turn of the last century.
Its strong relationships with the Emirates, then know as the Trucial States, date back to 1926 when it appointed Khansahab as its local agent.
This relationship was reinforced in 1934 when the ruler of Sharjah invited the British government to set up an air force base in the emirate. At that time BP imported aviation fuel in old-fashioned 4-gallon jerry cans, a far cry from the high technology refuelling equipment it uses today.
BP’s rewarding ties with Abu Dhabi date back to 1939 when Petroleum Concession Ltd. (PCL), a subsidiary of Iraq Petroleum Company, was granted a concession to explore for oil. This concession was assigned to Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast), which later became Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC).
In 1953 it was also granted a concession for offshore drilling. This saw the deployment of the first mobile drilling barge to be built in Europe. The first oil started to flow from the Umm Shaif field, 60 miles offshore, in late October 1962.
Source : BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2004
BP Kuwait
BP operates in Kuwait under the name of BP Kuwait Ltd. As the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, BP was one of the pioneers of exploration and production in Kuwait. BP was one of the founders of the original Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), which first discovered oil at Burgan in February 1938.
BP was the first oil company to be invited by the Kuwaiti Government to assist in the redevelopment of Kuwait’s oil industry after the 1990 Iraqi invasion and today a team of technical specialists are based in KOC’s offices in Ahmadi, supporting KOC in further development of the upstream oil industry.
Since 1992, BP has assisted KOC in the management of North and West Kuwait oil fields. The company has sponsored training programmes and technical visits to other BP locations, and has ongoing teaching and mentoring programmes to help develop local employees at all levels and to transfer technical and management skills to KOC staff.
BP Oman
BP Oman SAOG was floated in August 1998 and registered as an Omani public joint stock company on the Muscat Securities Market on 1 November 1998. BP Oman is involved in the distribution of fuel and lubricants products and operates in the sectors of:
• Fuel retailing
• Direct fuel sales to Government and commercial sector
• Lubricants
• Aviation refueling
Oman is the only location in the Middle East region where BP has filling stations. BP Oman currently operates a distribution network of 74 retail stations, which serves thousands of customers every day across the Sultanate.
Currently there are nine Lubeplus sites operating in the Capital and the Interior regions with the BP Visco lubricants brand holding strong brand equity in the Sultanate as a premium lubricant.
During the year 2001, the company started marketing and distribution of Castrol Lubricants in Oman.
BP Oman has an oil storage and distribution terminal, which is owned through a joint venture with Al Maha, at Mina Al Fahal. This is managed by BP Oman which was awarded an ISO 9000 certification for its professional management of the Mina Al Fahal joint venture terminal operations.
In addition to BP Oman, BP Marine has launched a fuel bunkering service at Salalah Port to cater for one of the fastest growing trade routes in the world. Three main grades of fuel are delivered by fuel barge either at berth or at anchor within port limits.
BP’s Trading arm, IST, has signed an agreement to buy petroleum products from Oman’s planned 75,000 b/d Sohar refinery, which is due to begin production in 2006. The contract with Oman’s government-owned Sohar Refinery Company, calls for BP to lift all products not required for domestic use for 10 years.
BP Saudi Arabia
Operations
BP has been operational in Saudi Arabia since 1983 and is mainly known by the brand name Castrol and to a lesser extent by the other brands, BP Solar and PASCO, an Air BP joint venture.
Main business activities in Saudi Arabia revolve around lubricants, oil trading, aviation fuel and a potential integrated gas business. The present BP activities in Saudi Arabia are as follows:
BP Representative Office: Based in Riyadh, it helps to direct, coordinate and assist all activities in Saudi Arabia. The office is also responsible for extensive business development activities and expanding relationship networks within the local business community.
Oil Trading: BP has a contract with Saudi Aramco for the purchase of a significant quantity of crude oil, mainly destined for BP refineries in Europe and the USA. In addition, it also purchases fuel oil and naphtha.
BP Lubricants: Castrol lubricants are based in Jeddah and distributed by the Al Khorayef group.
PASCO: This is a joint venture founded in 1976 between Shell (25 per cent as operator), BP (25 per cent), and the local partners including SAM (20 per cent), Sheikh Ashmawi (22 per cent), and the Kamal Adham family (8 per cent). It is based in Jeddah and has re-fueling operations in Jeddah, Medina and other airports.
BP Solar Arabia: A joint venture founded in 1989 for the manufacture of solar panels, it offers complete professional systems in Riyadh. The partnership comprises BP Solar (40 per cent) and local partners, Algosaibi (30 per cent) and Olayan Finance (30 per cent). Besides Saudi, it services several other territories in the Middle East including UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain.
BP Chemicals: Sells chemicals to SABIC and a number of other Saudi companies.
(Source: BP)
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