BP Caucasus Region

British Petroleum Caucasus Region

BP or British Petroleum is a multinational Oil and Gas firm that carries out exploration missions, refinement and supply of fuels to the world. BP is the third largest company in the energy sector and fourth largest among all multinationals. These titles were awarded to the firm on the basis of the sales or revenue amounts of the multinational energy companies in 2011. Other than petroleum generation, refinement and distributions, the firm also carries out production of petrochemicals, and participates in power generation. The firm is based in London and does business in 80 countries, with a total of 21,800 service stations and production capacity of 3.4 million oil barrels per day.

It is also well-known for its socially responsible attitude but it has been embroiled in some issues where the environment was damaged by their actions. One such incident is known as the ‘Deepwater Horizon oil Spill.’ It has also been a very political firm and has faced severe criticism for its politically accurate decision making. However, it is also making a visible effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its refineries and other installations. The firm is also a pioneer in taking measures to prevent climate change (BP Annual Report, 2011).

BP South Caucasus Pipeline

The pipeline is located in the Caspian Sea and is about 629 km long. It is a means of connecting the shore of Azerbaijan on the Caspian to Georgia and via Georgia it transports gas to Turkey. Its total diameter is approximately 42-inch and it can hold and carry around seven billion cubic meter gas. The pipe is constructed in such a way that it follows a crude oil line that runs through Baku, Tiblisi and Ceyhan and finally to Turkey. The reason for this decision is based on environment safety considerations. The facility contains the following installations: 2 compressors, one each in Georgia and Azerbaijan, a pigging station and 11 block valves. The entire construction of the two lines was undertaken as a joint venture by BP and some 7 shareholders of the firm.

Part of a terminal built in Azerbaijan is a technical training centre which is used for professional training and education of the staff that works on managing and running the oil and gas lines. The first delivery of gas from the Caucasus fields took place in 2006. Most of the work done on the pipelines was done in complete collaboration with the Azerbaijan government (BP, 2012).

BP Marketing Strategy

Marketing a product in a way that it is ever appealing and attractive to the consumers is one of the many strategies that ensure a corporation sales and profit. Developing a marketing strategy is imperative to success but it is not an easy task. A poor marketing strategy could result in poor sales. Therefore to survive and remain successful, firms need to constantly revise their marketing plans, adjusting them according to changing market dynamics, consumer demands and choices, market situation, competition etc.

The chief goal of BP is to sell fuels, oil and gas that are not harmful to the environment, along with value-added services for all its customers. One example of these is the AA Rewards system. The company learned some valuable lessons from its disaster in Mexico and quickly took responsibility for the incident. This stance worked to improve their market value along with the announcement that explained the actual incident as a communication failure. The company communicated all of this to the victim’s families and this again helped raise their esteem in the eyes of the consumers. Also their acceptance of the fact that greenhouse gases are emitted from their plants and their subsequent plan to use bio-fuels that would reduce this emission resulted in appositive image being painted of the corporation. Their latest target is not just promoting their products but also informing the consumers that they use material that will not result in disasters or diseases. (Nahid Mohsen Pour, 2011). For instance, they make use of solar energy and hydrogen gas in the production, extraction. BP has already achieved a lot of successes from their marketing strategy in which they have expressed agreement with environmentalists. This and the advertisement of the use of bio-safe materials has won the approval of environmentalists and created a pressure within the industry to force other similar firms to focus on environment friendly products. BP is the largest investor in Azerbaijan and when promoting its pipelines it can use this placement to its advantage (Unknown, 2009).

Research Methodology

The objective of this research is to:

gather information about the oil and gas market in Europe and Central Asia,

collect information about buyers and promotion channels for the oil and gas sector analyze the company situation pin point current market selling price for both items to win the respect and favor of the consumer

The end product of the research will be a comprehensive marketing plan for the gas produced in Caucasus fields. The type of research conducted will be linear and applied. This is because the information collected will be used to create a marketing plan for the company’s product. In applied research, the purpose is to pin point current social, economic trends. These trends such as: the share price of BP, which is currently, $38.24, or the demand and supply trends of the industry at that point t in time will be found. The research will also calculate the estimated price or promotion or for the use of specific distribution channels. These will help them decide upon the best available channel and method of promotion.

The research is also quantitative because it deals with measurements, cost analysis and it is empirical because it will collect quantitative data and strives to prove that one market variable, such as demand, affects another such as the price of oil and gas. Therefore the study is also empirical in nature. It will form a hypothesis about certain marketing schemes, such as: it will be beneficial to use the Oil and Gas Journal and other related Gazettes, plus the platform provided by environmentalist’s we sites and newspapers, to advertise the product (Unknown, 2012).

The Novelty element in this research can be the use of Internet and designing of social networks for Oil and gas prospectors. A web site for the company will also be launched and that will help provide easy access to buyers and competitors. The web site can feature survey forms that will be filled by buyers and provide the firm instant feedback about its product or marketing scheme.

The practical importance of this research is that it will be a comprehensive collection of the knowledge British Petroleum or any other Petroleum company for that matter might need to come up with an advertising and marketing strategy for its latest products. It will help the company research methods of transportation, promotion policies of their rivals and refine theirs with the use of this information.

References

Annual Report and Form 20-F 2011? (Report). BP. 2011. p. 98. Retrieved 28 June 2012.

“About BP Caspian: Unlocking Caspian Resources- a Major Oil Area Re-emerges.”Accessed 28 June, 2012, http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=6071&contentId=7052565

“BP P.I.C.” Accessed 28 June, 2012,http://www.vuru.co/analysis/BP

“BP has been in Azerbaijan since 1992 and is the largest foreign investor in the country.” Accessed 28 June, 2012, http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9015374&contentId=7028018

Nahid Mohsen Pour, “BP Market Analysis and Strategic Marketing Recommendations.” (Kensington College of Business and University of Wales, 2011).

“Recent Marketing Strategy of British Petroleum.” Last modified December 2009. Accessed 28 June, 2012, http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/12/recent-marketing-strategy-of-british-petroleum.html

“Research Methodology: An Introduction.” Accessed 28 June, 2012, http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/000896.pdf