Conoco

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, 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]