The story
Founded by Charles Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield in 1899.1
The "Wakefield Oil Company" was founded by Charles Wakefield in Cheapside, London in 1899. Wakefield had previously left a job at Vacuum Oil to start a new business selling lubricants for trains and heavy machinery. Eight Vacuum Oil employees joined Wakefield, and the company launched its first lubricant in 1906.
In early 20th century, Wakefield Co. developed lubricants especially suited for automobiles and aeroplanes. The brand "Castrol" originated after researchers added measured amounts of castor oil (a vegetable oil derived from castor beans) to their lubricant formulations. By 1960, the name of the motor oil had eclipsed the company's name itself so CC Wakefield & Company became Castrol Limited. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah Oil, which was renamed Burmah-Castrol.
Burmah-Castrol was purchased by BP Amoco in 2000. At the time of purchase, Burmah-Castrol had a turnover of nearly £3 billion with operating profits of £284 million. The company also had 18,000 employees worldwide, with operations in 55 countries. Respectively, BP Amoco had 80,400 employees worldwide and revenues of more than £63 billion. While Burmah's operations folded into the group, Castrol remained as a subsidiary of BP.
In December 2025, it was announced that Stonepeak had agreed to acquire a 65 per cent majority controlling interest in Castrol from BP, valuing the lubricants business at an enterprise value of approximately US$10.1 billion. BP will retain a 35 per cent minority stake, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will invest up to US$1.05 billion for an indirect interest, with the transaction subject to regulatory approvals and expected to complete by the end of 2026.
On 1 April 2026, a Castrol oil plant was struck by two Iranian drones during the 2026 Iran war. The facility was engulfed by a large fireball.
From Wikipedia’s article on Castrol, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5