1. Home
  2. What we do
  3. Trading & shipping

Trading & shipping

Transforming and connecting the global energy market

An overhead look of the trading floor in bp's Chicago office
We’re one of the world’s leading energy trading houses. Our marketers and traders work with partners to buy, sell and move energy, integrating our products and services to provide energy solutions for more than 5,000 North American customers annually. These include retail energy providers, power generators, producers, municipalities, private equity firms, renewable energy developers and natural gas consumers.

Offering an integrated and innovative approach to energy

One of the largest marketers of natural gas in North America for 20 years, our vast natural gas portfolio plays a key role in advancing the energy transition. We also market and trade natural gas liquids, oil & refined products, as well as environmental, renewable energy and financial products.

A snapshot of bp’s US investment 

  • 14.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas bought and sold daily
  • 5,000+ North America customers*
  • 81 TWh+ of power marketed in the US annually**

* Includes new customers as a result of the 2022 acquisition of EDF energy services.  
** Natural gas and power figures as reported by Platts in 2023 for 2022 calendar year. Power figure excludes ERCOT. 

bp traders work on computers and phones at the Chicago office trading floor

Learn more

Lower carbon shipping

bp’s shipping fleet features some of the most advanced tanker designs in the industry: bp vessels have some of the latest, most fuel-efficient hull forms, engines, cargo management technology and operational systems.

 

bp has made upgrades to its fleet of LNG carriers that may reduce fuel consumption by ~25% compared to earlier single skeg designs of similar capacity and emit less nitrogen oxides. The gas combustion system in our LNG tankers minimizes the risk of methane emissions into the atmosphere, and the full re-liquefaction system has the ability to convert 100% of the evaporated natural gas back into LNG and pump it to the cargo tanks. Each vessel is also equipped with an exhaust gas recirculation system that reduces nitrogen oxide emissions.

Our T&S portfolio