BP has not been “British Petroleum” for about 15 years. Nearly 40% of the company is US owned – another 40% is British.

BP entered the US market around 1966 as the BP Oil Company. Around 1989, it was reorganized as BP America. About ten years later it merged with Amoco to form BP Amoco, later shortened to simply BP. The moniker “British Petroleum” has never been used officially in the United States.

BP’s American operations consist largely of what used to be Amoco (formerly Standard Oil of Indiana), Standard Oil of Ohio (Sohio and Boron brands), Atlantic Richfield (Arco), portions of the former Gulf and Sinclair companies, and a number of local and regional companies. This explains what it has nearly as many American as British shareholders.

Rightly or wrongly, BP has long had the reputation of being the worst run major oil company in the US. Deserved or not, that reputation is now permanent. BP stations across the country — nearly all owned or operated by local dealers or distributors — are reporting large drops in sales. Industry observers expect BP to either change its American trademark or maybe leave the retail market completely.

A change in name won’t be cheap, either. In 1972, the Esso, Enco, and Humble trademarks were replaced by Exxon at a reported cost of $42 million dollars. In 1998, it was reported that the average cost of rebranding a single station was $30,000.