BP

BP Website    BP Fuel card

BP is one of Britain's largest companies and one of the world's largest oil and petrochemicals groups. During the company's first 6 decades, its prime focus lay in the Middle East, but from the late 1960s the focus shifted westwards, towards the USA and Britain itself. Today, BP is an international company, operating in over 70 countries. Its key strengths are in oil and gas exploration and production; the refining, marketing and supply of petroleum products; and the manufacturing and marketing of chemicals. There are around 1300 BP service stations in the UK. BP and the environment As a major supplier of carbon based fuels, which are strongly linked to climate change, BP play a part in finding and implementing solutions to this environmental problem. BP continually operate an efficiency improvement programme aimed at lessening emissions. They also constantly develop ways to measure emissions from the products they develop and sell. They support cleaner fuels with their sales of natural gas increasing and by offering BP Ultimate at around 1000 of their UK service stations. BP Ultimate burns more efficiently and cleans your engine as you drive, so is not only kinder to your car, offering better performance but also produces less harmful emissions and gives you more mpg. BP also invests in energy from renewable sources like the sun, wind or water which produce no carbon emissions. This includes a solar farm near Merseburg in Germany - one of the largest in the world and a jointly owned 22.5 megawatt wind farm near Rotterdam in The Netherlands, both opened in 2004. BP's Fuel Options BP Ultimate Unleaded has a research octane level of 97. Standard unleaded petrol has a research octane level of 95. This, on average, gives increased power in certain vehicles. According to BP, BP Ultimate can give, on average, a 7% improvement in power, a 5% improvement in acceleration and a 6% improvement in fuel economy, in comparison to Unleaded Regular 95 petrol. In comparison to regular diesel, BP Ultimate Diesel can improve a vehicle's power by up to 10%. BP have now introduced BP Ultimate 102 unleaded - a precision engineered, high performance fuel to some of their forecourts. This fuel is offered specially for private motor sport enthusiasts and has a high octane number of 102. This means it burns more completely so highly tuned engines perform at their best.

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ESSO

Esso Website    Esso Fuel card

Esso began as the Anglo American Oil Company in 1888. It was the first foreign associate of John D Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust US company. Its head office was based at Bishopsgate, London and had a depot at Purfleet, Essex. The depot housed paraffin being shipped from New York to England for use in lamps. In 1911, the US Supreme Court ordered the termination of the Standard Oil Trust, creating 33 spin-off companies, one of which, Standard Oil (New Jersey), acquired Anglo-American. The British affiliate stayed with the New Jersey company and, in 1934, took a phonetic version of the initials of Standard Oil ('SO', which finally became Esso) for some of its brand names. Esso was finally adopted as the company name in 1951. As a result of the Esso trademark being restricted in the US, Standard Oil (New Jersey) chose Exxon as its name in 1972. Exxon is the parent company of the Esso, Mobil and ExxonMobil companies that operate in the UK and there are currently over 1000 Esso branded service stations operating here. Esso and the Environment Esso's environmental policy on their website states that its parent company ExxonMobil is 'dedicated to running safe and environmentally responsible operations.' They detail ways in which they are committed to protecting the environment by making their power generation facilities more efficient and reducing emissions in their UK power plant. They also claim to be the UKs leading supplier of Compressed Natural Gas - a diesel alternative for heavy goods vehicles and say they have led the industry in making cleaner fuels more widely available. ExxonMobil is investing in research by providing $100M over ten years to Stanford University's Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP). This is the largest-ever investment in independent climate and energy research. This project is a major long-term research program designed to accelerate the development of commercially viable technologies that can meet global energy demand while dramatically lowering GHG emissions. Despite these positive steps taken to protect the environment, Esso have been attacked by environmental group Greenpeace who claim that they are the 'world's no. 1 climate criminal'. Greenpeace condemns Esso for being the only major oil company that does not accept the problem of climate change and slates them for not spending any money on clean, renewable energy despite making higher profits than any other company worldwide in 2004. Although not directly investing in the development of renewable energy sources at the moment, the research project at Standford mentioned above is looking into potential future technologies, including renewables. Esso is said to deny the fact that climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, stating that the science remains 'inconclusive', despite the fact most other fuel companies discuss the problem of climate change in their environmental policies and state what they are doing to try and resolve the problem. Esso refutes this allegation saying that it does take climate change extremely seriously and is taking action in several areas to address the risks it poses. It seems that Esso actually opposes the switch to clean energy and it is suggested by Greenpeace that they played a part in the US ditching the Kyoto Protocol which was the only international agreement to deal with climate change. Esso's response to this allegation is that, actually as early as 1997 the US Senate (under the Clinton Administration) voted overwhelmingly against supporting any agreement that did not include commitments from developing countries. Greenpeace's negative opinion of Esso's actions lead them to back a campaign for people to stop buying Esso petrol, with a slogan 'Esso chooses to wreck the climate. We can choose not to buy Esso's products. Don't buy Esso!' Esso's Fuel Options In 2004 Esso introduced the brand 'Energy' with Energy Supreme (UL 97) specially formulated to help clean the engine and deliver more power. It is also said to help provide smoother acceleration, reduce emissions and improve fuel economy. Esso Energy unleaded 97 is the most environmentally-friendly fuel offered by Esso.

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SHELL

Shell Website    Shell Fuel card

Shell produces 20% of Britain's crude oil, 17% of its gas and 15% of its petrochemicals. The company employ over 9,000 people directly and a further 6,000 in their subsidiary businesses. Shell businesses within the UK are part of the Royal Dutch Shell Group of companies, one of the largest industrial groups in the world. In July 2005, the parent companies of Royal Dutch and Shell Transport merged and Shell's operating companies are now owned by Royal Dutch Shell plc. Shell is based at Shell Centre on the south bank of the River Thames in London. Many global Shell businesses are also based in the UK, such as Oil Products, Chemicals, Renewables, Gas and Power, Aviation, Marine Products and Shell Services International (SSI). The trading and shipping subsidiary of the Oil Products business, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company (STASCO), is also based in London. It trades nearly four million barrels of crude oil a day. Around the UK over 900 Shell service stations currently operate. Shell and the Environment With an extensive section on their website devoted to environmental issues, Shell seem to acknowledge problems such as climate change and seem to be taking action to find solutions. They state they are 'committed to playing part in reducing the greenhouse gases' and detail several ways in which they carry this out. By investing money in making their operations energy efficient, their own greenhouse gases and emissions are lessened. It is noted that as a company they reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 20% between 1990 and 2000, however the figures are now creeping back upwards. As well as reducing their own emissions, Shell aim to help the public in reducing emissions by offering fuels with lower carbon content. They offer Autogas (LPG) at over 130 UK petrol stations. Committed to the use of alternative fuels where possible, Shell was one of the first UK retailers to make ultra-low sulphur fuels, improving fuel economy and reducing exhaust emissions and they are currently in the process of upgrading their Stanlow Refinery in the UK so it will be able to produce sulphur free fuels. Shell also invests in renewable energy and has set up the separate busines, Shell International Renewables. They contribute to the generation of renewable energy by partnering with the UK's first offshore wind energy development. Shell's Fuel Options Shell V-Power now replaces Optimx which was developed with Ferrari, working alongside their Formula One Team, and with a main focus on responsiveness and track reliability. This improved formula features higher octane (99 RON). V-Power aims to clean a vehicle's engine as it's used and as a result, aims to improve fuel economy and car performance. Shell also offer Shell Diesel Extra, designed to clean the engine as it powers the car. This can result in improved engine performance and improved fuel economy. The fuel also aims to reduce emissions. Shell Diesel Extra is a fuel with an exclusive formulation that is designed to clean the engine. This can lead to better engine performance and increased fuel economy as well as reduced emissions. Shell Diesel Extra contains a powerful detergent, which helps to clean away and reduce the build up of the harmful fuel system deposits that can collect in a diesel vehicle's fuel injection system, reducing performance and fuel economy.

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TEXACO

Texaco Website     Texaco Fuel card

Texaco products first went on sale in the UK 80 years ago and since then the brand has continued to steadily grow and develop. During the 1940s Texaco Petroleum Products and Trinidad Leaseholds merged to form the Regent Oil Company. Regent expanded over the next decade into branded petrol for the UK market. Texaco's Pembroke refinery opened in 1964, after drilling for oil began in the North Sea. The commonly recognised Texaco Star service station brand was launched during the 1980s and the company opened a customer service centre and chemicals plant. Texaco merged with Chevron Corporation during 2001 and entered the global marketplace as the fifth largest US-based energy company in the world. Today Texaco still have a refinery in Pembroke and around 1200 service stations in the UK Texaco and the Environment Texaco recognises that the use of fossil fuels has contributed to an increase in greenhouse gases and claim to be 'doing something about it'. Chevron, Texaco's parent company switched to natural gas for power generation in their Kuwait and California oil fields, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions and air pollutants. The environmental section on the Chevron site states that as a result of concerns about global climate change they are taking action in four areas. Although rather vague, this plan claims that they are committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency, invest in research and improve technology. They state they will also pursue opportunites in innovative energy technologies and support flexible and economically sound policies to protect the environment. Texaco's Fuel Options Texaco offer a full range of fuels, lubricants and additives for all types of cars, including Ultra low Sulphur Diesel, which is claimed to give protection from wear and tear as well as quick starting properties and performance in very low temperatures. The Premium Unleaded has a Research Octane Number of 95.There is also a Super unleaded which has a higher RON. The range is completed with Texaco Lead Replacement Petrol which is designed to replace leaded four star petrol and which contains a detergent additive.

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TOTAL

Total Website    Total Fuel card

Total has been marketed in the UK since 1955 and was set up as Total Oil Great Britain Ltd (TOGB). Originally formed as part of the French Total SA group, it was quickly established as an innovative petrol retailer, rapidly increasing its number of service stations. A large network of authorised distributors was developed and a lubricant plant at Ferrybridge, West Yorkshire was obtained. In 1965, TOGB and PetroFina oversaw the construction and operation of a new refinery on the south bank of the Humber near Killingholme, Lincolnshire. Today they have two refineries in the UK based at Milford Haven (South Wales) and Killingholme (Lincolnshire), as well as a lubricant blending plant at Ferrybridge (West Yorkshire) and a bitumen plant at Preston (Lancashire). Total is the world's fourth-largest oil and gas group with more than 121,000 employees worldwide. There are over 900 service stations operating across the UK. Total and the Environment As an international energy company Total is concerned with major environmental issues. Their commitment is shown by their groundbreaking operating agreement with the Environment Agency. They are the first oil company to have signed this kind of agreement which ensures they achieve 'best practice' in environmental performance in the future. Stringent environmental standards are met at Total's UK oil refinery which has been certified to ISO 14001. This accreditation has aslo been extended across the business. The Total group has an extensive environmental policy where they aim to help reduce the economy's reliance on carbon by lessening greehouse gas emissions and encouraging energy conservation. By developing alternatives and by optimising the oil and gas resources we do have, they aim to make the energy system more secure and hope to prevent the impact of transportation growth by improving the quality of their fuel. Total's Fuel Options Total have launched Total Excellium, a new range of high-performance fuels, allowing up to 30 miles further per tank. Included in the range are Total Excellium Unleaded 97 and Diesel. Total Excellium fuels can reduce CO2 emissions by around 5%, and can cut Carbon Monoxide and black smoke pollutants by around 25% in cars 5 years or older. Detergents in Total Excellium fuels clean sensitive parts of modern engines. This new fuel guarantees parts such as injectors and inlet valves are kept in top condition. Total Excellium Diesel has a higher Cetane Index, which improves its combustion properties in starting, and this can reduce start up noise by around 37%.

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