BP 2012 Annual Report Download - page 21

Conversion technology
Conversion of unconventional
feedstocks, including renewables,
to fuels and petrochemicals.
Petrochemicals technology
Develops, deploys and optimizes
proprietary technologies to
produce high-value petrochemicals
intermediates. End products:
solvents/resins, plastics,
textiles/fibres, paints.
Lubricants technology
Develops unique lubricants
and high-performance fluids
for transportation and
industrial applications.
End products: lubricants.
Fuels technology
Develops and implements new
high-efficiency fuel products.
End products: gasoline, diesel,
aviation fuel, marine fuel.
Refining technology
Optimizes crude oil selection, utilization
and refinery processing capability to
produce high-quality petroleum products.
End products: fuels, oils, bitumen, coke.
Downstream
Our Downstream segment is the product
and service-led arm of BP, focused on fuels,
lubricants and petrochemicals. It is
responsible for the refining, manufacturing,
marketing, transportation, and supply and
trading of crude oil, petroleum, petrochemicals
products and related services to wholesale and
retail customers.
The Downstream segment markets products in
over 70 countries and has significant operations
in Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia.
We also manufacture and market our products
across southern Africa and Central and South
America.
We aim to be excellent in the markets in which
we choose to participate – those that allow BP
to serve the major energy markets of the world.
Our aim is to operate all of our businesses as
safe and reliable value chains, where we
participate in multiple stages of each supply
chain, as we believe that way we can deliver
greater returns than would arise from owning
a collection of discrete assets. These value
chains, combined with our advantaged
manufacturing operations and expertise in
technology, allow us to pursue competitive
returns and sustainable growth, as we serve
customers and promote BP and our brands
through high quality products. As in our
Upstream segment, we will sell assets when
we believe that to do so would generate more
value than retaining them in our own portfolio.
Technology makes a critical contribution to our
downstream activities. Through the research,
development and deployment of a wide range
of technologies, processes and techniques, we
aim to enhance safety and risk management,
improve our margins, increase efficiency and
reliability, and create new market opportunities.
For example, in lubricants we launched an oil
co-engineered with Ford during the
development of its newly released EcoBoost™
engine, which offers a significant improvement
in efficiency.
The segment comprises three businesses:
fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals, each of
which operates as a value chain.
Our fuels business sells refined petroleum
products including gasoline, diesel and aviation
fuel and liquefied petroleum gas. Within the
fuels business, fuels value chains integrate the
activities of refining, logistics, marketing, and
supply and trading on a regional basis.
This provides the opportunity to optimize our
activities – from crude oil purchases to
end-consumer sales – all the way through
our refineries, terminals, pipelines and retail
stations.
Our lubricants business is involved in
manufacturing and marketing lubricants and
related services to markets around the world.
We add value through the strength of our
brands and through strategic collaboration with
original equipment manufacturing partners
where we seek to develop new high-
performance lubricants such as Castrol EDGE.
Our global petrochemicals business
manufactures and markets petrochemicals that
are used in many everyday products, such as
paints, plastic bottles and textiles. Value is
derived from our strong customer relationships
and joint-venture partners, and through the
application of our world-class, proprietary
technology.
Downstream technology
Downstream
For more on our downstream activities
in 2012 see pages 72-79.
The lubricants business is focusing on the growth
markets of Brazil, India and China. Below, a
Castrol laboratory technician in Brazil, where
Castrol lubricants have been sold since the 1950s.
Business review: Group overview
BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 2012
Business review: Group overview
19