The BP shield has been lowered. The Amoco torch has been extinguished. The familiar logos have been replaced with a green, white and yellow sunburst-named after Helios, the sun god of ancient Greece-that was unveiled to symbolize the oil major's commitment to energy in all its forms, from oil to natural gas to solar. An ad campaign suggests that BP now stands for Beyond Petroleum. Along with the new logo, the company showed off a prototype retail station-under construction for the past three months at a secret location in Atlanta. The station features such accoutrements as in-store kiosks where customers can check weather and traffic conditions, pay without cash or credit cards, and call up directions to local destinations. While filling up, customers can use a touch-screen monitor to order snacks, which will be waiting for them inside the store. The screens will also offer sports scores and the latest news headlines. In line with its investment in solar energy, BP's new retail sites will be powered in part by solar, with solar panels forming a transparent canopy above the pumps. The first new sites will open later this year in London, Cleveland and Indianapolis. It will take four years to convert the 28,000-site retail network to the new brand. The revamp is part of a major drive by the group to grow its worldwide retail business by more than 10% a year. The move to a single brand follows a $120-billion series of mergers and acquisitions which has brought together the former British Petroleum, Amoco Corp., Atlantic Richfield (Arco) and Burmah Castrol, creating a combined group with a market value of more than $200 billion. The company says it spent some $7 million on new-brand research and will spend an additional $25 million per quarter on implementing it, with most of the cost on signage and advertising. The revamp cost is expected to be what the premerged companies already expected to spend on upgrading the retail sites. Meanwhile, BP has become more aggressive in upstream spending. John Browne, BP chief executive, has announced a 13.5% increase in the London multinational's upstream spending for the next three years, to $13.5 billion from $12 billion. "It may be the shot heard round the world," suggests Bob Christensen, oils analyst with First Albany Corp. in New York. Saudi Arabia is trying to orchestrate a soft landing for oil prices-in the range of $25 to $28 per barrel-so producers can explore, develop and produce the resource base in 2002 through 2004, he says. "BP is saying that it's time to get busy so it can increase production during this period. It apparently understands that it could not continue to cost-cut itself into higher profits and production, which is where it has led the other majors the last few years." BP's E&P spending hike could be a catalyst for independents' stock prices as well as those of drilling contractors and oilfield service companies, he adds. "BP bought Amoco for its North American natural gas assets. It seems to be saying that it's time to develop those resources. It wouldn't if it didn't feel that North American gas is a growth market." James K. Wicklund, who follows the oilfield services for Dain Rauscher Wessels in Dallas, says BP's announcement confirms that major oils' E&P outlays will increase following two years of cost-cutting and stagnant production. "It also suggests a longer-term, multiyear cycle of sustained spending at increased levels. We think it's likely that other majors will make similar announcements as they release their earnings over the next several weeks." -Jodi Wetuski and Nick Snow

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