The Bharat Petroleum Story
Discover the rich history of Bharat Petroleum, India’s ‘best performing’ Maharatna Public Sector Undertaking, and its journey from being an Oil and Gas Company in India to a Fortune 500 oil refining, exploration and marketing conglomerate.
When Oil discoveries were being made and industries expanded, John D. Rockefeller and his business associates acquired control over numerous refineries and pipelines. With these acquisitions under their belt, they went on to form the Standard Oil Trust – a giant in its own right.
Observing this and to counter the growing significance of Standard Oil, three largest rivals – Royal Dutch, Shell and Rothschild’s – came together to form a single organisation called Asiatic Petroleum to market petroleum products in South Asia.
In 1928, Asiatic Petroleum (India) joined hands with the Burmah Oil Company, an active producer, refiner and distributor of petroleum products, particularly in Indian and Burmese markets to form the Burmah-Shell Oil Storage and Distributing Company of India Limited.
A pioneering approach
Burmah Shell began its operations with the import and marketing of Kerosene and soon proved itself to be a pioneer in more ways than one. The company imported oil products in bulk and transported them in 4-gallon and 1-gallon tins all over India.
The company also took up the challenge of reaching out to people in remote villages to ensure every home was supplied with kerosene. Thus, the development and promotion of efficient kerosene-burning appliances for lighting and cooking became an important part of its kerosene selling activity.
Showcasing its pioneering spirit, the company introduced LPG as a cooking fuel to Indian homes in the mid-1950s. Thus started the illustrious journey of many pioneering endeavours, which went beyond selling petroleum, educating customers and offering better services and products.
The Retail Revolution
The first drive-through fuel station in India was built in 1928. From then, our pan country network of Fuel Station has crossed more than 20,000 mark, with approximately 1 Crore vehicles fueling up every day. Bharat Petroleum also launched several iconic initiatives, such as, Pure for Sure, Premium Petrol & Diesel, Urban and Transport Loyalty Programme, Convenience Store In & Out, etc;. to transform the face of fuel retailing in India.
From the ground to the sky
As far as the story of aviation fuel in India goes, Burmah Shell, the erstwhile identity of BPCL began with bullock carts for transporting aviation fuel sometime during the early 20th century and the fag end of the century saw the commissioning of most modern hydrants. Our Aviation history have seen one milestone leading to the other, carved and etched with the glory of bygone era. Enjoy as you fly through the times.
The Birth of a Titan
On 24th January 1976, a new era dawned, as a 100% public sector enterprise, Bharat Refineries Limited, acquired complete ownership of Burmah Shell’s interests in India, including the largest refinery and a nationwide marketing organization. , Bharat Refineries Limited was later named as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
An advertisement released by Bharat Refineries Limited, in newspapers on 24th January 1976, offered the nation its first greetings in a new spirit of dedication.
In the picture, Mr K D Malaviya, Hon’ble Union Minister for Petroleum inaugurating the event.
Bharat Petroleum selects new logo on 18th November 1977
Those golden drops of Oil – this is what is commonly seen as Bharat Petroleum’s logo. However, the genesis of this unique symbol takes us back several centuries to the ancient Chinese Civilisation, where a similar design represented the elemental forces of Heaven Man and Earth.
In the Chinese view, all manifestations of the TAO are generated by the dynamic interplay of two polar forces – YIN and YANG. The idea is old and many generations worked on the symbols of the archetypal pair YIN and YANG meaning SHADE and SUN of the shady and sunny sides of the mountain – till these concepts became fundamental to Chinese thought.
The TAO, therefore, means – that which lets now the dark, will now let the light appear – signifying a continuous process. These two opposite poles of nature, representing light and dark, also represent Male and Female, Firm and Yielding, Above and Below.
Yang symbolizes all that is light, strong, male, firm, creativity and heaven, while Yin means the dark, receptive, female and earth. Heaven is above and full of movement while the Earth in the old geocentric view is below and resting – thus Yang stands for Movement and Yin, Rest.
In the realm of thought, Yin is complex (the female intuitive mind) while the Yang is rational (male intellect). While Yin is the quiet, contemplative state of the Sage, Yang is the strong creative action of the King. The dynamic character of YIN and YANG is illustrated by the ancient Chinese symbol called Tai-chi T’u or ‘Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate’. The diagram shows the dark Yin and light Yang but the symmetry is not static. It is a rotational symmetry suggesting very forcefully, a continuous cyclic movement.
What We Do
We fuel the dreams of the nation and energise it at a truly grand scale. We refine petroleum in our gigantic refineries and market fuels and lubricants in every corner of the nation through our 20,000+ fuel stations (petrol pumps). We are expanding rapidly in petrochemicals and also have upstream business interests (petroleum exploration and production). With rigorous research and development, we have innovated best-in-class products and solutions, winning 70 patents at the last count. As a conscientious corporate citizen, we are developing innovative green chemistries and creating planet-friendly processes and products for a greener world.
Put succinctly, we create opportunities, sustained value, and happiness for all stakeholders.
Heralding a Low-Carbon Future
Accelerating electric mobility is a pursuit wherein we are catalyzing a clean future for automotive transportation. As part of our energy transition, we have proactively begun converting 7,000 of our ‘Fuel Stations’ into ‘Energy Stations’ to offer not only petrol and diesel, but also CNG, electric vehicle charging, and flexi fuels, with a vision to introduce hydrogen in the future. We are also accelerating sustainable energy through biofuels like 1G and 2G Bio-Ethanol, Compressed Bio-Gas and Biodiesel in our journey towards a sustainable future accentuated by greater energy self-reliance. Simultaneously, the other part of our renewable energy portfolio – solar and wind – will see manifold jump in capacity in the coming years.
We have also challenged ourselves with the goal of achieving ‘Net Zero’ in Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2040.
New-Age Solutions
With a massive digital transformation, we have stepped into a scintillating future that leverages new-age technologies like artificial intelligence, data analytics, sophisticated automation, multifunctional e-solutions and web-based applications with rich functionality for providing hi-tech futuristic services to customers and engaging them in new delightful ways.
Communities are Us
Supporting our less endowed brethren is a heartfelt concern for us. Thus, we go miles to transform communities at the grassroots level through various far-reaching initiatives that foster socially important causes such as enhanced child education, women empowerment, skill development, strengthening of the rural economy, water conservation, environmental rejuvenation and more. It is heart-warming to see that our efforts are reciprocated joyfully by communities that are equally enthusiastic about the transformation achieved.
Wellbeing At Work
“We care for people” these words enshrined in our culture statement reflect our genuine concerns about the wellbeing of all BPCians. This feeling of oneness with each other is a way of life at Bharat Petroleum, which has created an environment that is diverse and inclusive. It encourages employees to bring their happiest and healthiest selves to work, creating a soothing multiplier effect. We outline here our care-filled initiatives for the wellbeing of our people.
Holistic Emotional Wellbeing
Emotional wellbeing is a subtle but crucial aspect of overall wellbeing of a person. It not only affects your personal life but your professional life also. An emotionally happy person spreads good vibrations among others, which is key to harmony and joy for all.
Roshni: This is an innovative Employee Assistance Program for 24/7 face-to-face counselling or online counselling provided by empanelled professionals for employees and their families..
Webinar Series: An engaging webinar series is conducted periodically to educate and spread awareness among employees on holistic wellbeing, covering topics such as mental health, stress management, mindfulness and balancing work and life.
Sahakarmi Mitra: Everyone has a preferred person a close friend who they can confide in. A Sahakarmi Mitra is a trained employee who functions as a confidant who can be reached out by co-employees when they are faced with emotional crisis in their personal or professional life. This acts a vent for sharing these pressures with a trusted friend and for eventually finding a way out of the situation.
Personal Wellbeing
Personal wellbeing refers to many things, among which is how you feel about your own keen pursuits. At Bharat Petroleum, we have a fascinating way to bring the best of you at personal level that blends perfectly with your professional life.
iPassion: It is a terrific platform for employees to blend seamlessly their profession and passion. You can explore new facets of your own personality and connect with your deeper interests, thereby ensuring that the workplace allows both your profession and passion to complement each other. Apart from nurturing your passion, you also get to connect with others in the organization with similar passions with overlapping common areas. This helps you build a stronger emotional connect with each other. The outcome is a truly energized work environment with each employee experiencing a heightened sense of fulfilment, collaboration and engagement.
Physical Wellbeing
Medical Reimbursement: The Corporation has instituted a comprehensive medical care policy that takes care of employees and their immediate dependents when it comes to medical expenses.
Health Checkups: An institutionalized periodic comprehensive health checkup scheme for all employees ensures that even a minor ailment is prevented from ballooning into a major health concern.
Workplace Safety: We stand by the motto of ‘Safety First, Safety Must’ through our extensive focus on behavior-based safety practices, safety trainings, and reinforcement through scenario-based learning.
Covid Support: In our fight with the inviable viral enemy, we provide swift Covid support by way of tie-ups with hospitals as well as local doctors and also through quarantine packages and establishment of isolation centres. Crucially, large-scale vaccination drives for our employees were undertaken at the first available opportunity at our workplace vaccination centres, along with full pandemic-related compliances.
Be Our Future
Bharat Petroleum is a Fortune Global 500 company and a PSU with a highly coveted Maharatna status. We are a family of 8000+ people forming great teams that energise a billion people each day. We are one of the largest oil refining and marketing companies in India, with an enviable track record of phenomenal growth, profitability and financial reserves, while our awesome human capital with wide-ranging expertise, diverse strengths, and skillsets is our greatest asset.
