BP’s Oil Supplies to Israel: Fueling War Crimes? Urgent Clarification Requested
London, 30th September: The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has demanded urgent public clarification BP regarding the due diligence conducted on its crude oil supplies to Israel made since October 2023. In particular, ICJP requests clarifications on any review undertaken by BP regarding whether its supplies of crude oil may have been refined by Israel to use in its war machine in Gaza. If this is the case, BP may be liable for complicity in war crimes.
In a letter to BP’s executives and directors, ICJP has raised concerns based on information recently made public by ‘Oil Change International’: that BP is one of five international oil companies known to have made significant supplies of crude oil to Israel. Most importantly, BP owns and operates the Baku-Tbilsi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, through which comes all of Azerbaijan’s crude oil supplies to Israel – with Azeri imports in total contributing 28% of Israel’s crude oil supply.
Additionally, there are credible reports that Azeri crude from the BTC pipeline is transported to Israel’s Ashdod refinery, which is the site of jet fuel production for the Israeli military. Given that well-documented airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force constitute probable war crimes, ICJP has relayed grave concerns to BPs directors that the corporation may be failing in its due diligence obligations, and furthermore failing to abide by its responsibilities under UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, among other international law provisions.
BP, along with the majority of other oil-suppliers to Israel named in reports, has declined to comment on these matters when raised by the press. But, ICJP states that it is a matter of serious public interest to establish whether, and in what ways, BP has implemented the UN Guiding Principles’ due diligence requirements with respect to crude oil supplied to Israel since is since October 2023.
Failing to meet these requirements may result in liability for BP as an entity and personal liability for the company’s directors both in the UK, under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, and abroad under principles of universal jurisdiction.
There is, of course, ample precedent of British companies changing their procedures and provision of goods or services once alerted to human rights due diligence risks; with recent actions from Burberry, HSBC, and SOCO (now Pharos) providing grounds for greater responsibility by BP.
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
- The data regarding BP (and the BTC Pipeline’s) supplies of oil to Israel is sourced from an August 2024 report by Oil Change International, ‘Behind the Barrel: New Insights into the Countries and Companies Behind Israel’s Fuel Supply’;
- Information regarding the role of the Ashdod oil refinery in producing fighter jet fuel likewise sourced from Oil Change International’s datadesk, ‘Israeli crude and fuel supply chains’
- Featured oil pipeline image sourced from ‘NPCA Online’