Scope and content
The Archive of the Main Board of BP p.l.c., its group business centre, business streams
and UK incorporated subsidiaries. Core business records are available including documents
of incorporation; General and Board minutes; accounts, schedules and shareholder records.
The Archive also includes Company magazines; annual reports and accounts; photographs;
films; public relations materials and D'Arcy family albums. More detail can be found
in the large collection of working files which constitutes half the Archive's holdings.
In addition there is a small number of private accessions deposited by former employees.
The Archive covers local, national and international history, and subjects include
every aspect of life touched by the oil industry: political, cultural and social affairs;
international disputes and warfare; changing topographies; industrial relations; economics
and business issues; transport, particularly road, rail and ocean tankers; technological
developments; and advertising and livery. Given that the Company was the first to
develop the oil resources of the Middle East, the Archive is a particularly important
source for Middle Eastern history in the 20th century, and the radical changes that
the oil industry brought to every aspect of life in the countries of the Middle East.
It is also an important source for the history of the United Kingdom, the Americas,
and Australasia, and contains some information on most other areas of the world.
Record creators history
Administrative/Biographical History
In 1901 William Knox D'Arcy obtained a concession to explore for oil in Iran. From
1905 this work was financed by The Burmah Oil Company Ltd and oil was discovered in
1908. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company Ltd was incorporated on 14 April 1909 and took
over ownership of the concession, but was still a subsidiary of Burmah. This changed
in 1914 following the British Government's decision to convert its Navy to fuel oil,
as it lead to a large investment in the Company by the Government giving it a 66 per
cent interest. The Government remained a major shareholder in the Company until it
decided to sell most of its shares on the stock exchange in 1987.
In 1923 the Company discovered oil in Iraq, within the "Transferred Territories" which
fell within the D'Arcy Concession. In 1914 it had become a shareholder in the Turkish
Petroleum Company Ltd, later renamed the Iraq Petroleum Company Ltd, which struck
oil in Iraq in 1927. In 1934 the Kuwait Oil Company Ltd was incorporated as a jointly-owned
venture with Gulf Oil Corporation of Pennsylvania, which discovered oil in Kuwait
in 1938. In 1932 the Company formed a joint UK marketing company with Shell called
Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd.
The Company was renamed the Anglo-Persian Oil Company Ltd in 1935. In 1951 the Iranian
Oil industry was nationalised and the Company was expelled from Iran. It changed its
name in 1954 to The British Petroleum Company Ltd. A consortium called The Iranian
Oil Participants Ltd was then formed, in which the Company had the largest interest.
The purpose of the Consortium was to work with the National Iranian Oil Company (formed
in 1951) to develop the country's oil and gas interests. This lasted until the Islamic
Revolution in 1979.
During the 1960s and 70s the Company pioneered oil and gas exploration and production
in the North Sea and Alaska. This was followed in the 1970s and 80s by a programme
of diversification which included the creation of BP Minerals, BP Coal, and BP Nutrition.
However, most of these assets were sold between 1987 and 1994 in order to finance
the purchases of The Standard Oil Company in May 1987 and Britoil in March 1988. The
Company then underwent a process of concentration on the "core businesses" of exploration,
marketing and refining, and petrochemicals. The one significant survivor from the
years of diversification is BP Solar which continued to grow during the 1990s and
is now one of the world's largest solar energy companies.
In 1982 the Company changed its name to The British Petroleum Co p.l.c. On 31 December
1998, the Company merged with the US oil company, Amoco Corporation, on a 60/40 basis
and was renamed BP Amoco p.l.c. Two further takeovers occurred in 2000 - Atlantic
Richfield Company (ARCO) and Burmah Castrol p.l.c. On 1 May 2001 the Company was renamed
BP p.l.c.
Reference: BP Archive
Accruals
Further deposits are expected.
Source of acquisition
The Archive was created in-house by the 1920s.
System of arrangement
The Archive is arranged to reflect the structure of the company
Conditions governing access
The BP Archive is open to 1954. Company magazines, annual reports and accounts, photographs
and public relations material are all open up to the present day. An appointment is
required to view the papers, please contact staff for more information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copying of material is permitted at the discretion of BP Archive.
Other finding aids
A database to file level is available for public use in the searchroom.
Related material
The repository holds a significant collection of books relating to the oil industry.
The repository also holds the papers of three jointly owned subsidiary companies:
Kuwait Oil Company Archive, the Iraq Petroleum Company Archive, and the Shell-Mex
and BP Limited Archive; and the papers of the wholly owned subsidiary the Burmah Oil
Company Archive.
Publication note
BP Company histories:
Reference:Ferrier, R. W.,The Developing Years, 1901-1932 ().
Reference:Bamberg, J.,The Anglo-Iranian Years, 1928-1954().
Reference:Bamberg, J.,British Petroleum and Global Oil, 1950-1975().
Extent
2700 linear metres
Keywords
Subjects:
Petroleum Great Britain History
Petroleum Middle East History
Petroleum Iran History
Petroleum Australia History
Petroleum United States History
Petroleum Prospecting
Petroleum Refining
Petroleum industry and trade Public relations
Petroleum industry and trade Government ownership
Anglo-Iranian Oil Dispute, 1951-1954
Petroleum products
Petroleum workers
Petroleum Marketing
Middle East History
United States History
Great Britain History
Australia History
Personal names:D'Arcy William Knox
Corporate names: Anglo-Persian Oil Company Limited 1909-1935 Anglo-Iranian Oil Company Limited 1935-1954 British Petroleum Company Limited 1954-1982 British Petroleum Company p.l.c. 1982-1998 BP Amoco p.l.c. 1998-2001 BP p.l.c. Burmah Oil Company Limited British Tanker Company Limited Tanker Insurance Company Limited Turkish Petroleum Company Limited Iraq Petroleum Company Limited Kuwait Oil Company Limited Shell-Mex and B.P. Limited Iranian Oil Participants Limited Standard Oil Company BP Minerals BP Coal BP Nutrition BP Solar Burmah Castrol p.l.c. Amoco Corporation
Language of the material
English, Arabic, Persian, German, and French.
Record creator
name of creator::BP p.l.c.
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