Term papers on BP Company History would have to address the fact that the company has a long and complex history. Term papers on BP company history therefore would have to provide a timeline of the most important events in the company’s leadership development from pioneer leader in the Middle Eastern oil industry to its position as a world leader in oil production. Term papers on BP company history would be incomplete without an examination of the challenges that the BP Company has faced over the years, including the most recent and largest disaster – the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The history of the British Petroleum Company, more prominently known as BP, begins at the turn of the twentieth century, at which time the company had just established itself as the first oil speculator and extraction company in the Middle East. One of the primary reasons that BP company history is so complex is that it began with the institution of the Middle Eastern oil industry and continued with the advancement of the industry to locations throughout the world in the century that followed. Throughout BP company history, the Company’s goal has been to maximize its bottom line and, in turn, satisfy its stakeholders. This goal has been challenged over the years by such events as the Great Depression, revolution in the Middle East and the oil crisis in the 1970s. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico however stands as its greatest challenge to date, a disaster that the world can only hope will never be repeated.
