An energy market expert has said that a boycott of BP products to retaliate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may be impossible.

According to reports of the Los Angeles Times, Bruce Bullock, executive director of the Maguire Energy Institute at South Methodist University, said, "I'm not sure if it's possible to boycott BP. When you combine the things that you can't see with the things you don't know, it's virtually impossible to avoid a corporation with the reach of BP."

It was also reported that not only is the origin of a gallon of gasoline at a gas station not widely known, but BP products are ingrained into the economic infrastructure. BP, for example, is a major supplier of lubricants used on cargo ships and a supplier of jet fuel for airlines, which makes it difficult for a consumer to tell when BP is profiting from common purchases.

The president of Public Citizen, Robert Weissman, has called for a consumer boycott because "BP must pay."

The newspaper said that BP's most visible presence in the United States is evident through its 1,350 Arco gas stations in five Western states and its 9,700 BP stations east of the Rocky Mountains.

It was further added by the newspaper that with BP's capacity to sell around the world, however, a boycott may hurt local station owners more than the corporation. (With Inputs from Agencies)