BP operates within the energy and natural resources sector which provide oil and gas all over the world.
by
ellouise1997hotmailcom (student)
I have completed a six week summer internship at BP; BP is one of the world's six major oil and gas companies. BP operates within the energy and natural resources sector which provide oil and gas all over the world.
The energy sector is very complex and operates in many different steps and there are three major sectors within BP, upstream, midstream and downstream. Upstream is the stage of the production process for example, searching and extracting raw materials. Firstly, the oil needs to be located in order for it to be extracted this is usually done by geologists. They will need to examine rock surface and terrain which is usually done by satellite images to ensure that they will be drilling for oil in the right place. They also use sensitive gravity meters to measure changes in the Earth's gravitational field and use sensitive magnetometers to measure changes in the Earth's magnetic field which all indicate flowing oil. They will also make use of seismology, creating shock waves that pass through hidden rock layers and interpreting the waves that are reflected back to the surface. Seismologists interpret the readings for signs of oil and gas traps and once geologists find a prospective oil strike, they mark the location using GPS coordinates on land or by marker buoys on water. Once the oil and gas is located the land needs to be prepared by clearing and levelling, ensuring there’s a source of water nearby and make a reserve pit which gets rid of rocks and drilling mud to protect the environment. Once this has been done, drilling companies will then drill and pump the oil out of the ground. When the oil is obtained it is sent to a refinery where it is physically, thermally and chemically separated into fractions.
