About the BP Group:
You undoubtedly know of BP, or have at least heard the name, and for a good reason. The BP group is very popular and extremely well known as it is one of the global leaders in the petroleum industry. Of course, its activity is divided among different sectors, primarily the refining and distribution of oil, but also exploration and the production of hydrocarbons.
BP is a British group that in fact attains no less than 66% of its turnover from around the world.
The major competitors of BP:
- Total: Of course, the Total group is one of BP's biggest competitors. This oil company based in France is indeed one of the giants in this sector of activity throughout the world. It is also one of the largest market capitalisations in the CAC 40 and the euro zone in general. One of Total's assets is its recent diversification, particularly in the electricity and natural gas sectors, which allows it to no longer depend solely on oil.
- Royal Dutch Shell: This other oil company is this time Dutch and is also known as Shell Oil in North America. It is a multinational company that also has various activities in the same sector as BP and also benefits from a number of strategic advantages.
- Chevron: The Chevron group is also a known competitor of BP. It is the second largest company in this sector in the US and one of the world's major oil companies. Chevron is active in more than 180 countries around the world in oil and natural gas, from exploration and production to refining, transportation, chemical production and sales.
- Exxon Mobil: Another US company to watch as part of your BP share price study is ExxonMobil Corporation, which is none other than the leader in oil and gas in the US and one of the most profitable companies in the world. It is also one of the world's largest market capitalization companies.
- Sinopec: Finally, we must also take into account the Chinese oil company Sinopec, which ranks among the largest companies in the world in terms of turnover.
The major partners of BP:
The BP Group has also implemented certain strategic partnerships with other large companies.
- In 2000 the Solvay Group created a partnership with the BP Group to exchange their polypropylene for the technical polymers of this company.
- In 2009, BP announced the implementation of a new partnership with Alfa Access-Renova relating to their joint business held in equal parts in Russia in order to rapidly start production and thereby become the third largest oil and gas group in the country.
- In 2016, BP and Rosneft also created a joint business in Russia in the oil exploration sector.
- Finally, the Ford Group and BP are long term partners and have developed technological solutions together for individual consumers. One of the projects resulting from this partnership is the presence of the Ford BP team in the World Rally Championship at Abu Dhabi.
Analysis of the price of BP shares:
The price of BP shares is currently quoted on the English market of the London Stock Exchange. It also integrates the calculation of the Stoxx Europe 50 Index.
Factors in favour of a rise in the BP share price:
Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the BP Group is absolutely necessary if you plan to speculate on this company’s share price on the stock markets. In fact, to implement comprehensive analyses and make a correct prediction of this asset’s movements you must understand the strong and weak points of this company.
We shall commence this analysis with a summary of the advantages of BP shares and the strong points of this company share on the stock markets against the competition:
- We would first note that the BP Group is a particularly innovative company. In fact, for a number of years now, this petroleum company has used innovation as an advantage against the competition. Each year the company invests a large part of its available cash flow in research and development to distinguish itself from its competitors and allow itself the possibilities to generate increased revenue in the future.
- Another undeniably strong point of this company relates to the fact that it unceasingly seeks to diversify its activities and establish new sources of income. This enables the company to protect itself more effectively against the risk of exposure to a single sector and also to generate increased profits.
- The company’s acquisition policy and regular implementation of strategic partnerships is also one of this group’s strong points. In fact, through the use of its alliances and acquisition of companies, BP continues to expand and significantly increase its growth capabilities over the medium and long term.
Arguments in favour of a drop in the BP share price:
The BP Group has, as we have just noted, numerous advantages. However it also has certain weaknesses that we shall now examine through this list of the most significant weak points of this company:
- Firstly it is important to underline the fact that the consumption of refined products has experienced, for a few years now, a significant decrease worldwide. Over the long term this could weigh heavily on the activities and profitability of the group.
- Another weak point relates this time to the margins achieved by the refinery activities exercised by this company. These are in fact less than those of the competition. The BP Group is continuously trying to overcome this gap by searching for ways to reduce its costs as much as possible.
- Of course, the competition is also a significant weak point of this company. In fact, although BP is one of the largest companies worldwide in the petroleum sector it has to face competitors that are also large and possess major financial resources that could seize parts of the market currently held by BP.
- And finally, the last weak point of the BP Group that we would draw to your attention relates to the weak growth and slowdown in the world economy that we can observe at present. In fact, it is clear that a slow economy weighs heavily on certain activity sectors including that of the petroleum industry and energy in general with a decrease in demand from industry.
The advantages and disadvantages that we have mentioned relating to the BP Company are of course susceptible to change over time and this is why you should complete a comprehensive fundamental analysis before speculating on this asset using up to date information based on current events and news from this sector.