Entity

BP Europa SE is the European operating subsidiary of BP p.l.c., structured as a Societas Europaea (SE) — a European public limited company — and serves as BP's primary downstream vehicle across Central and Western Europe.

Formation & Structure

Established on 30 April 2010 by converting Deutsche BP AG into an SE legal form and merging BP's country organisations in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Poland into a single entity. Switzerland was integrated in April 2011. Crucially, it is not a holding structure — it operates as one unified company with branches in each country.

Operations & Footprint

BP Europa SE covers seven countries: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland. Its core activities include:

• Refining — operates the Lingen refinery (Germany) and, pending sale closure, the Gelsenkirchen complex (Horst + Scholven)

• Retail fuel distribution via approximately 3,500 filling stations

• Marketing of petroleum products, lubricants, and petrochemicals under the BP, Aral, and Castrol brands

Scale

BP Europa SE generates estimated revenues of around $52 billion and employs approximately 9,200 people (2025 figures). It ranks among the top wholesale petroleum companies in Germany by sales. The formation of the SE legal structure was designed to simplify legal, corporate governance, and internal finance and tax processes across BP's European operations.