Learn about the advanced technology that BP is deploying with this handy 2 page factsheet

1. Technology in BP
Advanced technology is one of BP’s distinctive capabilities
• We are world leaders in imaging technologies, which we use to both help find and recover
more oil & gas. To keep us ahead, we have invested in the world’s largest supercomputer
for commercial research in Houston.
• BP’s LoSaL®
Enhanced Oil Recovery technology has the potential to significantly increase
recoverable oil. The world’s first LoSal®
EOR full field deployment will be at our award-
winning Clair Ridge development in the North Sea.
• We are a world leader in a number of petrochemical process technologies. Our new SaaBre™
technology is the most significant step forward in acetic acid production in 40 years.
• Our scientists have created Castrol EDGE with TITANIUM Fluid Strength Technology™
,
which changes the way engine oil behaves under extreme pressure, reducing friction by up
to 15% and doubling the oil film strength.
We have deep technical expertise and strong external relationships
• We employ over 2,000 scientists and technologists at our seven major technology centres
in the UK, US and Germany.
• We have long-term relationships with leading universities, including:
ƒƒ The BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (BP-ICAM): $100 million
over 10 years
ƒƒ The Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI): $500 million over 10 years
• We have a thriving venturing business, investing in entrepreneurial companies around the
world to identify promising early-stage technologies, from oil & gas to renewable power.
We have a long-term view of technology, underpinned by robust data
• Our Technology Outlook analysis shows that foreseeable advances in technology should
ensure sufficient supplies of oil & gas to meet rising demand through to 2050.
• BP’s multi-partner Energy Sustainability Challenge (ESC) research programme has concluded
that with wise policy and continued improvements in technology, the world’s water, land and
mineral resources can be sufficient to support energy needs out to 2050 and probably well
beyond.
Our supercomputer in Houston has a
processing power of 2.2 petaflops
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In 2013 we invested $707 million in
research and development
Over $100 million committed to the BP
International Centre for Advanced Materials

2. Behind the headline:
Technology in BP
Advanced technology is one of BP’s distinctive capabilities
• BP leads the industry in the development and deployment of new advanced seismic
imaging technology. Our seismic imaging capability not only helps geoscientists “see”
valuable hydrocarbons under complex rock more clearly, but it also generates better quality
data and enables more efficient large-scale and appraisal efforts at lower risk and cost.
• Our new supercomputer in Houston has a processing power of 2.2 petaflops, which
equals more than 2,000 trillion calculations per second.
• Enhanced oil recovery (or EOR) technologies improve the percentage of oil we can recover
from an oil field. BP’s LoSal®
EOR is a breakthrough technology which uses low salinity
water to release more oil from the rock. LoSal®
EOR has the potential to unlock more than
500 million barrels of additional oil from across BP’s portfolio, with the world’s first full scale
deployment due to start up in 2016 at Clair Ridge in the North Sea.
• BP Well Advisor is a real-time, well-monitoring and early-warning system. It has already been
deployed at more than 20 offshore operations worldwide, and successfully completed over
150 casing runs with no stuck pipe incidents.
• In the past 30 years, engine pressures have almost doubled, putting more stress on engine
oils, which need to withstand pressures up to 10,000kg per square centimetre. TITANIUM
Fluid Strength Technology™
in new Castrol EDGE is bonded to a polymer backbone. This
makes the titanium soluble in the oil. This ground-breaking technology reduces friction by
up to 15% and doubles the oil film strength.
• BP is a world leader in the production of acetic acid, purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and
paraxylene (PX) – used in everyday products as diverse as paints, clothes and packaging.
SaaBre™
, BP’s next generation acetic acid technology, is expected to deliver a significant
reduction in variable manufacturing costs.
• Over 100 scientists at our Global Biofuels Technology Centre in San Diego are focused
on conversion technologies to produce advanced biofuels.
Deep technical expertise and strong external relationships
• Our internal R&D and our diverse external partnerships make up a global ‘ecosystem’ of
innovation, connecting thousands of researchers in BP with those in universities, national
laboratories, small and medium enterprises, major suppliers and industry partners.
• Concentrating on core sectors where BP operates, BP Ventures identifies and accelerates
the development of game-changing innovations.
• The BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (BP-ICAM) is a $100 million, 10 year
research collaboration between BP and four of the world’s leading universities: the University
of Manchester, Cambridge University, Imperial College London and the University of Illinois
at Urbana Champaign. BP-ICAM has 14 research programmes across the four programme
areas of structural materials, functional materials, smart coatings and separations.
• The BP Institute of Multi-phase Flow (BPI) at the University of Cambridge helps the company
better understand what happens when gases and liquids interact, with applications from oil
fields to engine lubricants.
• The Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI) is a ground-breaking partnership between BP, the
University of California Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. It is BP’s largest external research investment (up to
$500 million funding over 10 years) and its goal is to research next generation biofuels and
explore broader bioscience applications to the energy sector.
A long-term view of technology, underpinned by robust data
• BP’s Technology Outlook analysis indicates that we have probably reached a point globally
when the potential for enhanced recovery from known hydrocarbon resources exceeds the
potential from new discoveries (such as from arctic or ultra-deepwater).
• Our Energy Sustainability Challenge (ESC) research programme reveals that best practice
technologies and processes can greatly reduce the need for fresh water in oil & gas
extraction and refining.See bp.com/technology