Conoco

This article is about the company prior to its merger with Phillips. For the company today known sometimes as Conoco, see ConocoPhillips.
Not to be confused with television production firm Conaco.
Conoco Inc.
Formerly
  • Continental Oil and Transportation Company (1875–1911)
  • Continental Oil Company (1911–1999)
  • Conoco, Inc. (1999–2002)
Company type
NYSE: COC (1998–2002)[1]
IndustryPetroleum
Predecessor
FoundedNovember 25, 1875; 148 years ago (1875-11-25) in Ogden, Utah
FounderIsaac Elder Blake
DefunctAugust 30, 2002 (2002-08-30) (as a company)
FateMerged with Phillips Petroleum, remaining as a brand
Successors
HeadquartersWestchase,
Houston, Texas
Area served
Worldwide
Products

Select locations

OwnerPhillips 66 Company
Websiteconoco.com

Conoco (/ˈkɒnəkoʊ/ KON-ə-koh),[2] formerly known as Continental Oil, is an American petroleum brand that is operating under the ownership of the Phillips 66 Company since 2012 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. One of the several successors of Standard Oil, Conoco was a subsidiary of that company from 1884 until its 1911 divestiture when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to decouple the monopolized entity.

Alongside Phillips 66 and 76, it operates as one of the major fuel brands of the Phillips 66 Company.[3] Of those two brands, Conoco has a more dominant presence of gas stations in the markets of Colorado, Texas, Montana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, as well as a growing presence in Eastern Pennsylvania following taking over the retail contracts of several Gulf locations, while having a complete absence in states such as California and Florida.[4]

Continental Oil, originally based in Ogden, Utah was founded by Isaac Elder Blake in 1875 and was acquired by the Standard Oil Company in 1884. Eighteen years after Standard Oil’s dissolution, Marland Oil would acquire Continental, moving its headquarters to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1929. As the acquisition took effect, Marland favorably phased out its own name and rebranded into the more nationally known Continental and Conoco nameplates. As it became one of the largest oil companies in the United States, Conoco further expanded its operations globally during the 1970s decade.[5]

Similar to other oil companies during the 1970s energy crisis, Conoco’s operations were negatively impacted, and so in 1981 Conoco, the ninth-largest oil company at the time, was embroiled in one of the most expensive corporate takeovers in history when the Mobil Corporation and Seagram attempted to acquire the company. DuPont, who was conjured by Ralph Bailey (the CEO of Conoco at the time) was hired as a white knight[6] and would eventually emerge triumphant defending Conoco from the two vendors.[7] DuPont’s acquisition of Conoco at US$1.5 billion made it the largest merger in U.S. history at the time, surpassing that of Shell Oil’s acquisition of the Belridge Oil Company at USD$3.5 billion in 1979.[8] In 1998, DuPont and Conoco announced their intentions to split which was commenced when DuPont sold 30% that year and the remaining 70% in July 1999, officiating their separation.

For many years, the company would operate its own refineries until 2002 when it was merged with the Phillips Petroleum Company to form ConocoPhillips. A decade later, ConocoPhillips would divest its downstream operations that consisted of its gas stations operations under the brands of Conoco, Phillips 66, and 76. The divestiture would eventually commence and the spin off that contained the downstream operations of ConocoPhillips went under a separate company known as the Phillips 66 Company.[3]

  1. ^ "Conoco to cut 975 jobs – Dec. 29, 1998". money.cnn.com. CNN. CNN Money. 29 December 1998. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ^ "NLS Other Writings: The ABC Book, A Pronunciation Guide". National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  3. ^ a b "Phillips 66 to Roll Out New Brand Images". Convenience Store News. Ensemble IQ. Convenience Store News. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Number of Conoco gas stations in the United States in 2023". Scrapehero. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ "The Business Journal Interview with Ryan Lance, CEO and chairman of ConocoPhillips (Video)". Houston Business Journal. CNN. American City Business Journals. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ^ Gaines, William R. (1996). "Pre-Reorganization Continuity of Interest and the Historic Shareholder Concept: J.E. Seagram Corp. v. Commissioner". The Tax Lawyer. 50 (1) (50 ed.). American Bar Association: 249–263. JSTOR 20771863. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ^ Rowe Jr., James L. (6 August 1981). "Du Pont Wins Costly Fight Over Conoco". The Washington Post. New York City, New York: Nash Holdings. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  8. ^ Noble, Kenneth B. (18 August 1981). "TAKEOVER OF CONOCO BACKED BY DU PONT'S SHAREHOLDERS". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 November 2023.