BP p.l.c.

BP plc — integrated oil major with LNG trading and pipeline transportation operations. Midstream segment transports and markets natural gas and LNG globally.

BP p.l.c. is excluded due to its direct role in a catastrophic environmental event that caused severe and widespread harm to marine animals. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is considered one of the largest environmental disasters in history, releasing approximately 4 million barrels of oil. The spill directly killed thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles, and impacted an estimated 82,000 birds.

Following the spill, BP was sued by the Animal Welfare Institute and other groups for burning sea turtles alive during controlled burns of surface oil, a practice alleged to violate the Endangered Species Act. The company ultimately pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect related to the deaths of 11 workers and the spill's environmental impact, agreeing to a record $4.5 billion in penalties. While this exclusion stems from a specific incident, the scale of animal suffering caused by the operational failure and subsequent response is material.

BP p.l.c. is a vertically integrated oil and gas major with more than 110 years of experience in fossil fuel exploration and production. As of 2024, the company operated in 61 countries and produced approximately 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its ongoing upstream activities include major projects like the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) deep gas project in the Caspian Sea.

The company faces legal challenges alleging it has purposefully directed conduct to delay the transition from fossil fuels. A 2026 lawsuit references a conspiracy to delay the energy transition in violation of antitrust law. A separate complaint filed by environmental groups alleges BP engaged in misleading advertising regarding its climate commitments. An independent 2022 analysis concluded that the energy products of major oil firms, including BP, have contributed significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and planetary warming.

While BP has announced various energy transition plans, its core business remains the exploration, extraction, and production of oil and gas. A 2026 shareholder resolution from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) specifically calls for greater disclosure of upstream capital expenditure, indicating ongoing investor scrutiny of the company's fossil fuel investment strategy.

BP is responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The 2010 blowout and subsequent 87-day oil spill released approximately 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing extensive contamination of marine and coastal ecosystems. The company’s drilling partner, Anadarko, stated the spill was caused by BP's "negligence or misconduct." Beyond the initial damage, BP employed aggressive legal tactics against cleanup workers, many of whom later reported serious health issues from exposure to oil and chemical dispersants.

The company’s environmental record is defined by systemic operational failures. ViolationTracker documents BP’s top penalties totaling over $34 billion across 76 records, with the largest penalties stemming from oil spill and air pollution violations. This includes a record-setting $40 million penalty in 2023 for civil air pollution charges at its Indiana refinery. A separate 2024 legal action alleges that excessive gas flaring at a BP site in Iraq directly caused a death from leukemia, claiming senior management decisions allowed the practice to persist.

While much of the litigation, such as the City of Oakland’s climate nuisance case, pertains to the company’s fossil fuel business model, the documented physical damage from spills, flaring, and pollution falls squarely under environmental negligence. BP’s pattern of major incidents and regulatory penalties demonstrates a recurring failure to prevent ecological harm from its operations.