The term 'OIL GIANT ACQUIRED BY BP' refers to the American oil company AMOCO, which was acquired by British Petroleum (BP) in 1998. AMOCO was one of the largest oil companies in the world at the time and its acquisition by BP made it the largest oil and gas company in the world. The merger created a company with operations in more than 100 countries and a combined market capitalization of over $200 billion.