Bp: the Oil and Energy Company
BP: The Oil and Energy Company
BP is an oil company whose roots start back in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1870 's. BP has grown from a local oil company to now being a global energy group employing over 80,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide. BP provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemical products for everyday items. They are all about finding oil and natural gas and have several brands that might sound familiar: BP, Castrol, Arco, Aral, am/pm, and Wild Bean Cafe. The market structure of BP would fall under an oligopoly because there are a few number of firms in the oil and energy industry and also BP 's products are very differentiated from their competitors because they are specific brand names that are more popular among consumers. BP will also consider the prices of their rivals before changing their prices. For example, AM/PM here in Reno is one of the gas stations with the lowest prices and therefore they look at their competitors in order to see whether they should increase or decrease prices depending on whether or not they are making money. BP also has a great deal of non-price competition going on and there are significant obstacles into getting into a market structure such as an oligopoly, a lot having to do with the standard oil trusts and all the government regulations on an industry such as this one (Economics Basics). In the year 2000, scientist and BP turned their thought to the future and saw that the climate changes were threatening the earth. This was going to be an obstacle for the company because it was now important to find safer ways to provide energy. BP then decided to find new low-carbon energy forms to reduce the amounts of carbon in the atmosphere and started making and investing their time into solar power, wind, natural gas, and bio-fuels. By doing this, the company grew even larger and became a company that embodied energy in all its major forms. They of course
BP is an oil company whose roots start back in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1870 's. BP has grown from a local oil company to now being a global energy group employing over 80,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide. BP provides fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services, and petrochemical products for everyday items. They are all about finding oil and natural gas and have several brands that might sound familiar: BP, Castrol, Arco, Aral, am/pm, and Wild Bean Cafe. The market structure of BP would fall under an oligopoly because there are a few number of firms in the oil and energy industry and also BP 's products are very differentiated from their competitors because they are specific brand names that are more popular among consumers. BP will also consider the prices of their rivals before changing their prices. For example, AM/PM here in Reno is one of the gas stations with the lowest prices and therefore they look at their competitors in order to see whether they should increase or decrease prices depending on whether or not they are making money. BP also has a great deal of non-price competition going on and there are significant obstacles into getting into a market structure such as an oligopoly, a lot having to do with the standard oil trusts and all the government regulations on an industry such as this one (Economics Basics). In the year 2000, scientist and BP turned their thought to the future and saw that the climate changes were threatening the earth. This was going to be an obstacle for the company because it was now important to find safer ways to provide energy. BP then decided to find new low-carbon energy forms to reduce the amounts of carbon in the atmosphere and started making and investing their time into solar power, wind, natural gas, and bio-fuels. By doing this, the company grew even larger and became a company that embodied energy in all its major forms. They of course
Cited: BP PLC. BP Global | BP. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. "Economics Basics: Monopolies, Oligopolies and Perfect Competition." Investopedia.com - Your Source For Investing Education. 2010. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. . Schepp, By David. Business News, Stock Quotes, Investment Advice - DailyFinance. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. . "BP." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. .