Financials and production activity
Prior to 2021, BP’s businesses were divided into three major segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Other Businesses. In January 2021, the company announced a change to its business segmentation and would, going forward, separate gas and low carbon energy operations from its oil production activities. Daily liquids production of BP fell to 1.2 million barrels in 2022.The Downstream sector is still by far the company's largest segment in terms of revenue, generating nearly three times as much as upstream activity. Downstream generally includes the processing and final distribution of fuels, lubricants, and petrochemicals. North America and Asia are the most important regions for BP’s oil production.
Impact of oil spills – Deepwater Horizon
BP was linked with a number of environmental, health, and safety violations over the last few decades. The latest and most remembered is the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, the second-largest oil spill in the history of oil production. The U.S. government estimated the oil spill quantity at some 4.9 million barrels. By the end of 2013, the oil spill had cost the company some 28 billion U.S. dollars due to various payments.The company has since started diversifying its operations by increasing capital expenditure on low-carbon energy projects such as offshore wind to reduce its huge carbon footprint.