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Over the last 30 years China has been through dramatic change. At BP we haven’t just watched it happen, we’ve been part of it
What we do
Since we arrived in China in 1973, our development can be followed in three stages. In the beginning, our growth came from chemicals licensing and marketing. During the 1980s this shifted into onshore and offshore exploration. By mid 1990s, we found ourselves in large-scale equity investment and manufacturing. To date we’re one of the largest foreign energy investors in the country with nearly $5 billion of cumulative commercial investment.
BP China’s work here is varied and wide. Its business activities include offshore gas production, chemical joint ventures, aviation fuel supply, LPG marketing, oil product and lubricant retailing and the sales of chemicals technologies.
We were one of the first foreign companies in China to explore for oil and gas offshore. The Yacheng 13-1 gas field was one of China’s largest offshore gas discoveries we made, and it’s currently operated by our business partner CNOOC and supply Hong Kong and Hainan Province.
On land, we are also playing a big role in bringing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to consumers in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Working with our Chinese partners, we are proud to be the only foreign partner in China’s first LNG terminal in Shenzhen. We’re also making a large-scale investment in chemicals joint ventures, which include the Shanghai Ethylene Cracker complex, Zhuhai PTA plant, Chongqing and Nanjing Acetic Acid plants.
BP is a familiar brand to the Chinese consumer. It has a leading position in the retail market in which we work with PetroChina and Sinopec to build and operate over 800 dual-branded retail stations in Guangdong and Zhejiang Provinces. We’re also the only foreign company participating in the aviation fuels market. BP’s lubricants are marketed throughout China under the premium brand of Castrol.
We’re working with our partners to develop sustainable energy solutions to support the Chinese economic development. The major project we’re involved in is Clean Energy Facing the Future – a 10-year R&D initiative in partnership with Chinese Academy of Science. On Feb 18, 2009, BP and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the establishment of the Clean Energy Commercialization Centre (CECC) joint venture in Shanghai with the aim to push forward the commercialization of clean energy, especially clean coal technologies in China. We have also created BP-Tsinghua Clean Energy Research and Education Centre as well as BP-Sun Yat-Sen Universtiy Centre for LNG Education, Training and Research.