Facts About BP Oil

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We all know about BP oil because of the horrific gulf oil spill that began on April 20, 2010. That was just the beginning of this awful accident that had drastic consequences for people and sea life. Although this event is still affecting the Gulf waters and the fish and other sea life, this is not all there is to BP oil. The company has a long history that began in 1908, so it has a long history. Also, in spite of the company’s name, ‘œBritish Petroleum’, it is not owned by Great Britain. The name was given to the company by Germans who owned it. This name was chosen to encourage Britain to buy the oil and own stock. This article provides interesting facts about BP Oil:

Fact 1: Began in 1908, after finally finding oil in Persia

Fact 2: Workers hauled pipeline brought in from the United States on barges as far as they could go, then used mules to drag the pipeline the rest of the way.

Fact 3: Their oil refinery, the Abadan, would be the largest in the world once it was finished.

Fact 4: In 1914, the refinery almost went bankrupt for the second time. The oil was there, but there was not a big market for gasoline because cars were still too expensive for most people. Only the wealthy were able to buy cars.

Fact 5: Because of the strong smell of sulphur in the oil of that region of Persia, the company could not even sell it as kerosene for home heating purposes.

Fact 6: The British parliament was not interested in purchasing oil because it could replace coal as the main source of power.

Fact 7: Winston Churchill convinced the British parliament that it was in Britain’s best interest to own shares in the oil refinery in the Persian Gulf. Owning shares in the oil refinery, according to Churchill, would secure and protect the interests of Great Britain.

Fact 8: This spill that occurred resulted in thousands of gallons of oil being poured into the Gulf of Mexico. This was the worst oil rig catastrophe in history.

Fact 9: Thousands of miles of United States coastline was affected, causing residents who depended on catching fish, crabs, lobster, and more to be greatly affected by the loss of income that supported their families. Many of these people lost everything and BP is dealing with a lot of law suits still today.

Fact 10: Whales and other larger types of sea life are still being affected, as they are still in danger of swimming into some oily film that can clog their gills and blowholes. They are also affected by the decreased food supply that the oil spill caused by killing off the food the whales need. When they do find a food supply, there is a great chance that they will be eating fish that are contaminated, which will, in turn, hurt the whales.

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