BP's WestLake Campus in Houston

The greater Houston area is the US headquarters for BP America and home to the largest concentration of BP people and assets in the world.

Home to about 7,000 employees, the greater Houston area also is the major US center for several key BP business units, including Exploration and Production; Gas and Power; Integrated Supply and Trading; as well as the Texas City Refinery, BP’s largest. Houston is also home to BP Alternative Energy’s global wind and thermal power businesses located in downtown Houston.

BP is committed to investing nearly $1 billion this year in alternative forms of energy. By investing in a diverse range of energy sources, BP is helping meet America’s energy needs today, as well as ensuring a more secure energy future.

Fabric of the Community

When it comes to investing, BP believes it is important to invest in and be a part of the fabric of the community. BP believes in supporting the communities in which the company has operations and to helping enhance the quality of life enjoyed by the people who live in those communities.

“I’m proud of BP’s ongoing commitment to community and educational initiatives and believe our involvement is helping to make a difference in the communities where we operate,” says BP America Chairman and President Lamar McKay.

On the community front, BP partnered with the National Urban League and invested $3.2 million in the Gulf Coast Economic Empowerment Initiative, an effort to empower those Gulf Coast communities impacted by Hurricane Katrina to begin the process of economic recovery and revitalization.

In Texas and California, BP has sponsored the Conference for Women, an annual networking and professional development conference for women. And, BP locations across the United States, from Alaska to Chicago to South Carolina, have been longtime supporters of their local United Way, which serves as the social safety net in communities.

Through its recruiting efforts, BP has developed strong relationships with, and provided support to, a number of premier universities across the country, including Rice, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, University of Texas, Stanford, University of Illinois, University of Houston, Penn State, MIT and others.

For students who want to pursue training and employment in the process technology sector of the oil and gas industry, BP sponsors scholarships and financial assistance programs. In addition, BP sponsors a program for instrumentation technician apprentices and electrician apprentices.

In addition to financial support from BP America and the BP Foundation, employees volunteer their time and talents to support community organizations and schools in their hometowns. Examples include the BP MS 150 – Houston, which raised more than $17 million in 2009 to help Texans affected by MS and to fund critical research; the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes; the Relay for Life Cancer Walk; and an annual repair project involving six to eight homes with Rebuilding Together Houston.

Also, BP volunteers participated in an Arbor Day tree-planting project as part of former Houston Mayor Bill White’s effort to plant 1 million trees over five years in Houston.

As an energy company, BP is one of the largest investors in United States, providing its customers with fuel for transportation and energy for heat and light. BP employs more than 92,000 people worldwide and more than 29,000 in the United States. BP’s family of brands includes Amoco, ARCO, BP and Castrol.

Investing in the US

BP is one of the largest investors in United States energy development and is the leading US producer of oil and natural gas. During the past five years, BP has invested nearly $30 billion in the US, including major investments to increase existing energy sources, extend energy supplies and develop new low-carbon technologies.

Technology Leader

Much of BP’s success is due to the talent, dedication and hard work of its employees. Their ideas drive the technological innovation that is a hallmark of BP’s successes in increasing oil and natural gas production from today’s frontier fields in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Discovery and production of these new fields would not have been possible without BP’s development and use of innovative, cutting-edge technology.

BP’s Highly Immersive Visualization Environment (HIVE) in Houston helps improve the odds of exploration success by allowing teams to study computer-enhanced 3-D imaging of geological formations. It enhances field development by speeding design of production facilities and improving reservoir description and well placement. The HIVE allows BP employees to gather, integrate and visualize data, allowing them to quickly analyze complex problems and make better decisions.

Advanced collaborative control centers, which link BP’s Houston office with offshore production facilities, provide BP with greater coordination and interaction to improve field performance at every level.