Bp Company

BP, the giant British oil company, still was digesting its purchase of Amoco Corp. two years ago when it agreed to buy Atlantic Richfield Co., the California gasoline powerhouse based in Los Angeles. Mergers were widespread in the oil patch at the time, as the commodity's sinking price prompted energy executives to pursue alliances to make up for lost profit. Crude oil was $11 a barrel; self-serve regular gasoline about $1.20 a gallon.

The Obama administration filed a civil complaint Wednesday against BP and eight other companies over the gulf oil spill this year, setting up a lengthy and complex legal battle over cleanup costs and penalties that could amount to billions of dollars. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, alleges a series of violations of federal safety and operational regulations that resulted in the April 20 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil giant BP and Edison International said Friday that they would spend $1 billion to build a one-of-a-kind hydrogen power plant in Carson to supply the region with badly needed electricity without polluting the air. Slated for completion in 2011 next to BP's Carson oil refinery, the 500-megawatt facility would be the world's largest hydrogen-fired power plant, churning out enough electricity to serve more than 300,000 average homes, executives said at a news conference that drew Gov.

The Atakapa-Ishak people live just above water. There are no roads, no sidewalks, no mailboxes, just a stand of houses sprouting from spits of land in a sea of marsh grass. The only path in or out of Grand Bayou is by boat. Rosina Philippe, 54, will tell you that when her father was a child, the village of 50 families about an hour south of New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish was even more isolated, accessible by one narrow canal so densely canopied by live oaks that children could scramble across them to get from one house to another.

California pipeline safety experts are investigating a 43,000-gallon gas oil spill from a BP pipeline in Long Beach that has heightened concerns about the company's safety record. The leak occurred in a 12-inch-wide steel pipeline that runs four miles from a BP terminal in the Port of Long Beach to the BP Carson refinery. The spill did not reach water, but it contaminated part of a rail storage yard.

The Atakapa-Ishak people live just above water. There are no roads, no sidewalks, no mailboxes, just a stand of houses sprouting from spits of land in a sea of marsh grass. The only path in or out of Grand Bayou is by boat. Rosina Philippe, 54, will tell you that when her father was a child, the village of 50 families about an hour south of New Orleans in Plaquemines Parish was even more isolated, accessible by one narrow canal so densely canopied by live oaks that children could scramble across them to get from one house to another.

Edison International and energy giant BP will unveil development plans today for a massive "alternative energy project" to be built at BP's Carson oil refinery. Edison and BP will jointly develop a $1-billion power plant capable of producing 500 megawatts of electricity, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website Thursday.

The nation's first certifiably green gasoline station sports a futuristic metal canopy covered in shiny triangles of uncoated, recyclable stainless steel. The rooftop holds 90 solar panels and a collection system that gathers rainfall to irrigate drought-tolerant plants nearby. The underside is outfitted with low-energy lighting. Cars will roll across concrete mixed with bits of recycled glass.

Witnesses to an explosion at a Texas City oil refinery last month told investigators they saw a "geyser-like" release of liquid and vapor from a 100-foot-tall vent just before the blast that killed 15 people and injured more than 100. Investigators were still trying to determine what touched off the explosion at the BP plant. About 30 damaged vehicles were found close to the vent believed to have released the vapor. One of them could have set off the blast, investigators said.

BP plans to double spending on alternative and renewable energy, creating a business unit that could generate about $6 billion a year in revenue within a decade, the London-based oil giant said. BP will invest $1.8 billion in the next three years on solar, wind, hydrogen and carbon sequestration. The company will focus on new technologies to replace oil- and gas-based power generation, which accounts for more than 40% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Russian police visited the offices of British oil company BP and its Russian joint venture in what some observers said could be part of the government-orchestrated campaign to take control of lucrative energy assets. A group of police investigators appeared at the offices of BP's joint venture, TNK-BP, and later went to the Moscow offices of BP itself.

BP, whose brands include Arco, reported a 53% rise in fourth-quarter profit Tuesday as oil prices surged, but full-year earnings fell because of refining outages and rising costs. The oil giant also unveiled a more generous dividend policy and plans to speed up restructuring and cost cutting. BP said net income in the fourth quarter rose to $4.4 billion from $2.88 billion a year earlier. Revenue, including asset disposals, rose to $81.5 billion from $62.8 billion. Full-year profit fell 5.

BP is taking a multimillion-dollar broom to sweep away a slew of federal charges linked to energy price fixing, a deadly refinery blast and pipeline leaks and focus on its energy business. The more than $373 million in settlements announced Thursday are part of BP's attempt to rid itself of problems from the stewardship of former Chief Executive John Browne and move ahead with the restructuring of Europe's second-largest oil firm.

Oil giant BP will pay $303 million to settle regulators' claims that it tried to corner the U.S. propane market, according to a person familiar with the matter. The accord may be announced Thursday at a news conference with the Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said the person, who declined to be named because the agreement hadn't been made public.

BP's $18-million settlement with California utilities and state officials over electricity sales made during the state's energy crisis in 2000 and 2001 was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The commission issued an order approving the agreement among London-based BP and the state's three major utility owners, PG&E Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy Corp.

British oil giant BP has agreed to sell its interest in the Siberian Kovykta gas field to state-controlled Gazprom as the Kremlin tightened its grip on Russia's oil and gas industry. The sale is the culmination of years of pressure on BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP, which wanted to develop the huge field to supply lucrative export markets in Asia. Gazprom will pay $600 million to $900 million for TNK-BP's 62.9% stake in the Kovykta operating company and a 50% stake in a smaller company.

Exxon Mobil Corp., BP and Royal Dutch Shell, the three largest publicly traded oil companies, are expected to report higher quarterly earnings this week as record energy prices compensated for losses at hurricane-damaged rigs and refineries. The world's five biggest oil companies, which also include Paris-based Total and San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corp.

BP, the world's second-largest oil company, reported a 34% jump in third-quarter profit Tuesday as record energy prices more than outweighed hurricane damage to its rigs and refineries. BP, which owns the Arco brand, said net income rose to $6.53 billion, up from $4.87 billion in the same period of 2004. Revenue jumped to $97.68 billion from $66.72 billion. Production fell 2% from a year earlier, primarily because of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. "The recent hurricanes in the U.S.

BP signed a $900-million natural gas exploration deal with Libya, marking the return of the British oil and gas company to the North African OPEC-member state after a 30-year break.

A consumer advocacy group urged the UC Board of Regents on Wednesday to ensure that BP does not benefit inappropriately from its $500-million research grant to UC Berkeley by obtaining exclusive rights to scientific discoveries. The Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights also called on the regents to prohibit the British oil company from conducting secret research at the public university and from using UC's name in marketing campaigns without the regents' approval.