Community

BP’s projects typically have a 20 to 30 year time frame, so our success depends, in large part, on our ability to provide tangible benefits from our presence and gain the support of the local community

To this end, we take actions that are relevant to local circumstances, mutually beneficial, and designed to create enduring solutions, as opposed to short-term fixes.

Our focus should be to make a positive difference to society through genuine partnerships, something that BP refers to as mutual advantage.

In addition, our community outreach programs help us build a sense of teamwork among employees as they share in contributing towards the social progress of the communities where we live and work.

Some examples of BP’s local community involvement.

Alaska

Our Alaskan programs are tailored to reflect the unique needs of diverse urban and rural areas.

A grant of $500,000 to the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, for example, is assisting in the expansion of its Heart Center, enabling cardiac patients to receive life-saving treatment in their local community
Up on the North Slope, BP contributed $100,000 to Ilisagvik College in the Native community of Barrow to work with local agencies in gathering information on bowhead whale populations. The result is scientific data that will help in establishing a reasonable number of whales that can be hunted by local indigenous people for subsistence use, while protecting the resource for future generations
In the Matanuska-Susitna Valley north of Anchorage, BP partners with the Jessica Stevens Foundation to offer small capacity-building grants and technical assistance to 20 small non-profit organizations that serve the region's people

A handful of programs provide benefits to citizens statewide by addressing concerns that are common to many communities. For example, BP contributed $300,000 to the American Red Cross to develop and train a network of volunteer first responders in rural Alaskan communities. The program ensures quicker response to natural disasters in remote regions of the state, many of which are only accessible by air. BP also provides scholarships to students throughout Alaska for four-year college degrees and a two-year program in process technology.

Gulf of Mexico

Houston is home to 7,000 BP employees, the largest concentration in the US. In addition to numerous employee-led initiatives benefitting a host of schools and non-profit organizations, BP is the proud sponsor of three major events.

The BP MS150 is the largest fundraising bike ride in the country, regularly featuring 13,000 cyclists who ride the two-day,150+ mile course from Houston to Austin. In 2009, although weather cancelled Day One of the two-day ride, more than 11,000 cyclists participated on Day 2 and helped raise more than $16 million to fight multiple sclerosis. In addition to serving as title sponsor, BP fields the largest team, with 750 riders from all over the world, and is the largest fundraiser for the event, topping $1 million annually. BP employees also volunteer their time organizing the ride
As heritage sponsor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, BP is proud to partner with this organization, which distributes more than $10 million annually in college scholarships to deserving students

Following Hurricane Ike, many Galveston County residents had to rely on generators to power their homes. So BP donated more than 250 generators to Galveston County communities and social service agencies. The gas-powered generators can be used during a power failure and some are being earmarked by the communities to help residents who require electricity to sustain medical equipment.

A local Boy Scout troop house underwent an “extreme makeover” with the help of BP volunteers, who gave the house a new paint job, installed insulation, and put in a new ceiling.

San Juan Basin

The San Juan Performance Unit is run out of two locations 50 miles apart - Farmington in northern New Mexico and Durango in southern Colorado. Both have operating centers.

New Mexico

In 2007, BP was awarded the EDGE (Economic Development Growth and Excellence) award in New Mexico for our contribution to the business and local communities.

Also, we are funding a $750,000 training program at the San Juan College in Farmington. The program aims to increase the knowledge and number of potential future employees who have practical application experience with some of the equipment BP uses in the field.

Colorado

BP is investing $1.1 million in an affordable housing program run by the Durango Regional Housing Authority (RHA). We also donated $90,000 worth of solar panels to a community education center and provided a $25,000 matching grant to help build a Senior Citizens Center in Bayfield, Colorado.

Wyoming

In conjunction with BP's decision to invest $2.2 billion in the Wamsutter field, BP also committed to a community investment program to help the town of Wamsutter grow with BP's exploration and development.

This growth includes creating an infrastructure capable of housing the 130+ employees needed to oversee the 2100 new wells and to construct BP's new operations center. Since 2005, BP has helped the town build a daycare facility, a town park, and has invested more than $1 million to fund an endowment that provides continuing support for an economic development director and daycare operations.

More recently, BP has worked with the governor’s office, the state legislature and the town government to identify and fund local infrastructure needs. In 2009, the state funded an additional $3.5 million for Wamsutter infrastructure, to be matched by $3 million from BP. The combined $6.5 million, coupled with other sources of funds, will help the town improve roads, water, sewer and storm drainage improvements, as well as build a basic medical clinic that will be operated using town, county and endowment funds.