BP plc
Acquisitions
6
Major Deals Covered
$85.5B
Disclosed Deal Value
BP's largest disclosed acquisition here is Amoco Corporation for $48.2B in 1998. This page covers 6 major deals from 1998 to 2023, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amoco Corporation | 1998 | $48.2B | BP's acquisition of Chicago-based Amoco Corporation was driven by the strategic logic of combining BP's European and global upstream assets with Amoco's extensive North American portfolio particularly Amoco's significant positions in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater, the Permian Basin, and Rocky Mountain natural gas. The merger also gave BP a commanding US retail fuel presence through Amoco's approximately 9,000 service stations, predominantly in the Midwest and Southeast. At $48.2 billion it was the largest industrial merger in history at the time of its announcement in August 1998. |
| ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) | 2000 | $27.0B | The $27 billion acquisition of ARCO followed the Amoco deal and was motivated primarily by ARCO's Alaska North Slope production assets including a 22% stake in the Prudhoe Bay field (the largest oil field in North America) and associated infrastructure and its significant deepwater Gulf of Mexico portfolio. ARCO's ARCO-branded retail fuel stations on the US West Coast (primarily California and the Pacific Northwest) also provided BP with a major retail fuel presence in the western United States. |
| Castrol Limited | 2000 | $4.7B | BP acquired Castrol the world's leading premium lubricant brand for approximately $4.7 billion as part of its strategy to build a high-margin, branded consumer products business that would be less cyclically sensitive than its upstream and downstream commodity operations. Castrol's global brand strength, particularly in Asian automotive markets, and its technology leadership in synthetic lubricant formulation made it a compelling acquisition target that no other oil major had managed to secure. |
| Lightsource Renewable Energy (43% stake, later 100%) | 2017 | $200.0M | In December 2017 BP agreed to invest $200 million for a 43% stake in Lightsource, one of Europe's largest solar developers, giving it a utility-scale solar platform without building one from scratch. The business was renamed Lightsource BP and later became a 50:50 joint venture. |
| Archaea Energy | 2022 | $4.1B | BP bought Archaea Energy, a US producer of renewable natural gas from landfill methane, for $4.1 billion in cash ($26 per share) plus about $800 million of net debt, to build a bioenergy business that earns premium prices under US renewable fuel programmes. |
| TravelCenters of America | 2023 | $1.3B | BP acquired TravelCenters of America for about $1.3 billion ($86 per share) to add a nationwide network of roughly 280 highway travel centers serving trucks and motorists in the US. |
2023
$1.3B
BP acquired TravelCenters of America for about $1.3 billion ($86 per share) to add a nationwide network of roughly 280 highway travel centers serving trucks and motorists in the US.
The sites gave BP more US fuel and convenience sales and locations suited to future truck and car charging.
TravelCenters of America is part of BP's US downstream business, which reports in the Downstream segment from July 2026.
2022
$4.1B
BP bought Archaea Energy, a US producer of renewable natural gas from landfill methane, for $4.1 billion in cash ($26 per share) plus about $800 million of net debt, to build a bioenergy business that earns premium prices under US renewable fuel programmes.
The deal made BP one of the largest renewable natural gas producers in the US and gave it a pipeline of landfill gas plants to build.
Archaea is one of the low-carbon businesses BP kept after the 2025 reset.
2017
$200M
In December 2017 BP agreed to invest $200 million for a 43% stake in Lightsource, one of Europe's largest solar developers, giving it a utility-scale solar platform without building one from scratch. The business was renamed Lightsource BP and later became a 50:50 joint venture.
Lightsource bp expanded from the UK and Europe into the US, India, Australia and Latin America, using a develop-and-sell model in which it sells majority stakes in finished projects. In November 2023 BP agreed to buy the remaining 50.03%, completing the takeover in October 2024.
Full ownership came just before BP's February 2025 reset cut transition spending. In July 2026 the Financial Times reported that BP was in advanced talks to sell Lightsource bp to Qualitas Energy and Wren House; no sale had been announced as complete as of 2026-10-01.
2000
$27.0B
The $27 billion acquisition of ARCO followed the Amoco deal and was motivated primarily by ARCO's Alaska North Slope production assets including a 22% stake in the Prudhoe Bay field (the largest oil field in North America) and associated infrastructure and its significant deepwater Gulf of Mexico portfolio. ARCO's ARCO-branded retail fuel stations on the US West Coast (primarily California and the Pacific Northwest) also provided BP with a major retail fuel presence in the western United States.
ARCO brought deepwater Gulf of Mexico acreage, the Cherry Point refinery in Washington state, and the ARCO and ampm retail network on the US West Coast, making BP one of the largest fuel retailers in the western United States.
The ARCO acquisition was subject to significant antitrust scrutiny from the US Federal Trade Commission, which required BP to divest ARCO's Alaska assets to Phillips Petroleum (now ConocoPhillips) as a condition of approval. Despite this forced divestiture, the combined BP-ARCO entity created substantial value through Gulf of Mexico operational integration and the retention of the ARCO retail brand, which remains one of BP's most profitable fuel retail operations in the US.
2000
$4.7B
BP acquired Castrol the world's leading premium lubricant brand for approximately $4.7 billion as part of its strategy to build a high-margin, branded consumer products business that would be less cyclically sensitive than its upstream and downstream commodity operations. Castrol's global brand strength, particularly in Asian automotive markets, and its technology leadership in synthetic lubricant formulation made it a compelling acquisition target that no other oil major had managed to secure.
Castrol added a branded, higher-margin business that was less exposed to oil prices than BP's upstream and refining operations, with particular strength in Asian automotive markets.
Castrol remained part of BP for 25 years. In December 2025, as part of its $20 billion divestment programme, BP agreed to sell 65% of Castrol to Stonepeak at a $10.1 billion enterprise value, keeping a 35% stake; completion is expected by the end of 2026.
1998
$48.2B
BP's acquisition of Chicago-based Amoco Corporation was driven by the strategic logic of combining BP's European and global upstream assets with Amoco's extensive North American portfolio particularly Amoco's significant positions in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater, the Permian Basin, and Rocky Mountain natural gas. The merger also gave BP a commanding US retail fuel presence through Amoco's approximately 9,000 service stations, predominantly in the Midwest and Southeast. At $48.2 billion it was the largest industrial merger in history at the time of its announcement in August 1998.
The combined BP Amoco became the world's third-largest oil company by production, with output of approximately 2.5 million barrels per day from operations in 100 countries. The transaction created approximately $2 billion in annual cost savings through operational and procurement operational efficiencies, exceeding the original $1.5 billion target. The merger established BP as the dominant upstream operator in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater and gave it the US retail network that today operates as BP and Amoco branded service stations.
The Amoco integration was broadly considered a success by the standards of late-1990s megamergers, with the combined company achieving its operational alignment targets, integrating IT and operational systems, and creating an US market position that remains central to BP's portfolio today. The Amoco brand was retained at service stations in the US Midwest and Southeast, where it continues to generate strong customer loyalty. The Whiting, Indiana refinery acquired from Amoco remains one of BP's most valuable downstream assets.
BP's current strategy dates from its February 2025 reset, which raised upstream oil and gas investment to about $10 billion a year, cut planned spending on transition businesses to $1.5-2 billion a year, and set targets of $20 billion of divestments and $14-18 billion of net debt by 2027. Meg O'Neill has gone further since April 2026: two business segments instead of three from July 1, about 700 non-frontline job cuts reported in July, completion of the Gelsenkirchen refinery sale to Klesch Group in August, and continued exploration in Brazil and the Gulf of America. Low-carbon work continues where BP sees returns, mainly renewable natural gas, EV charging and its offshore wind joint venture with Japan's JERA.
BP earns money at each stage of the oil and gas chain. Upstream, it finds and produces crude oil and natural gas in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico), the North Sea, Brazil, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Oman, Trinidad, Egypt and US onshore basins; output averaged 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Q1 2026 and 2.2 million in Q2 2026. Downstream, it refines crude at plants such as Whiting, Indiana, and sells fuels, lubricants, aviation fuel and convenience goods through brands including BP, Amoco, ARCO, Aral, ampm, Thorntons and TravelCenters of America. A supply, trading and shipping arm moves crude, refined products, gas, LNG and power between markets and is often the swing factor in quarterly profit, as it was in Q2 2026. From July 1, 2026 BP reports through two segments, Upstream and Downstream, replacing the three-segment structure (gas & low carbon energy; oil production & operations; customers & products) created in 2020. Low-carbon activities such as Archaea Energy's renewable natural gas, bp pulse EV charging and a 50% stake in offshore wind venture JERA Nex bp continue at a smaller scale.
In December 1998, BP acquired American oil giant Amoco (Standard Oil of Indiana) for $48 billion, which was the largest foreign industrial takeover of an American company in history, creating BP Amoco and greatly expanding its US refining and retail footprint.
In April 2000, BP acquired Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) for $27 billion, securing valuable oil reserves on Alaska's North Slope, extensive pipeline infrastructure, and the popular ampm retail convenience store brand on the US West Coast.
In July 2000, BP acquired British specialty lubricants company Burmah Castrol for £3.0 billion ($4.7 billion) in cash, making Castrol BP's flagship global consumer and industrial lubricants brand.
In December 2022, BP acquired Archaea Energy Inc. for $4.1 billion in cash ($26.00 per share), instantly making BP the largest producer of landfill-derived renewable natural gas (RNG) in the United States.
In May 2023, BP completed the acquisition of TravelCenters of America Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash ($86.00 per share), adding 280 premier nationwide highway travel plazas with extensive truck parking, maintenance, and fast-charging potential.
In 2003, BP created TNK-BP with Russian billionaire consortium AAR. In 2013, BP sold its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Russian state oil giant Rosneft for $12.5 billion in cash and a 19.75% equity stake in Rosneft (which BP exited in 2022 following the Ukraine invasion).
BP agreed in November 2023 to buy the 50.03% of solar developer Lightsource bp it did not own and completed the deal in October 2024. In July 2026 the Financial Times reported that BP was in talks to sell the business.
In 2021, BP took 100% ownership of Midwest US convenience store chain Thorntons, adding over 200 high-volume convenience fuel stations to its retail mobility network.
Yes, in 1998, BP executed a massive, historic $48 billion mega-merger with the American oil giant Amoco, and shortly after acquired ARCO to completely dominate the Alaskan oil market.
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