Britoil plc was a privatised British oil company producing oil in the North Sea. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was formed from privatisation of the upstream assets of the British National Oil Corporation (BNOC), a state-owned company, in 1982. It was acquired by BP in 1988, becoming a brand of it.Britain Drops a Barrier To B.P. Bid for Britoil on The New York Times, 5 Feb 1988
History The British National Oil Corporation (BNOC), a state-owned body, was originally formed in 1975 under the provisions of the Petroleum and Submarine Pipe-lines Act 1975.World National Oil Company Statutes barrowscompany.net Its objective was to maintain adequate oil supply levels.BNOC fades out 15 April 1985 cnn.com
Britoil's interest in UK oil and gas fields in 1982 was as follows. +Britoil interest in UK oil and gas fields in 1982FieldBritoil interest (%)Thistle18.93Dunlin9.77Ninian20.73Statfjord5.30Murchison27.92Beatrice28.00South Brae30.00Hutton20.00Clyde51.00Viking (gas)50.00Andrew100.00
As a result of the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982, BNOC was split to enable the trading sector of the company BNOC to remain nationalised whilst the oil exploration and production sector, Britoil, was a limited liability company. On 4 March it was incorporated as Britoil Limited.
In November 1982, 51% of Governmental shares in Britoil were sold off, but this was substantially under-subscribed. The resultant losses were carried by underwriters. The remaining Government minority shareholding in Britoil was sold in November 1985 for £434 million, ensuring it kept a "Golden Share" in order to veto any outsourcing attempts. The collapse in world oil prices globally, combined with the possession of Britoil's majority share by BP meant that the golden share was sold to British Petroleum in 1988.
Britoil's Production entitlement and financial summary was as follows: YearProduction entitlementTurnover, £ millionProfit (loss) before tax, £ millionProfit (loss) after tax, £ millionOil, 1000 bbl/dGas, million cubic feet/day1977–31128(43)(31)19781025754(35)(26)1979642152676933198085229506256671981117164832435731982108866010319831252586143198415496881691985 (6 months)96836591
In the same year, the company had been subject of an attempted £23 million fraud by one of its own cashiers.
Key people Chairman and Chief Executive: Baron Kearton (Christopher Frank Kearton) (1975–79), Ronald Utiger (1979–1980), Sir Philip Shelbourne (July 1980 – 1988), Sir Robin Duthie (1988–90).
Ian Clark was Britoil joint managing director until the BP takeover.
After the splitting off of Britoil Lord Croham, the deputy chairman of BNOC, became chairman of BNOC's trading activities (1982–85).
See also List of oil exploration and production companies
References
External links Worksmart info on Britoil plc Catalogue of Clive Jenkins' papers re Britoil, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick