ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips is a large American multinational corporation. It focuses on hydrocarbon exploration and production. This means the company searches for and extracts energy resources like oil and gas. These resources are called hydrocarbons. The company is headquartered in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas.

It plays a major role in the global energy market. The company manages its work through six distinct geographic segments. These include Alaska, the Lower 48 states, Canada, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific, and other international areas.

The company's operations involve a complex process of finding and moving energy. First, they engage in exploration to locate resources deep underground or under the sea. Once located, they move to the production stage. This is the process of extracting the raw materials from the earth. The company also handles the transport and marketing of these fuels. They deal with several different types of resources. These include crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and bitumen. Bitumen is a very thick, heavy form of petroleum. They also manage liquefied natural gas, which is gas cooled into a liquid state for easier transport.

ConocoPhillips operates in 15 different countries around the world. In 2019, the United States was its largest source of production at 49%. Other significant production areas included Australia at 12% and Norway at 10%. Qatar accounted for 6% of production that year. Canada provided 5%, while Indonesia and Malaysia each provided 4%. Libya and China each contributed 3%. The company's U.S. work is spread across many locations. These include the Alaska North Slope, the Permian Basin, and the Gulf of Mexico. In Alaska, they operate in the Cook Inlet Area and the Alpine oil field. They also work in the Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay oil fields.

The history of the company began in 1875.

Isaac Blake founded the Continental Oil and Transportation Company in Ogden, Utah. This company used the acronym "Conoco." In 1885, Conoco became part of Standard Oil. After the Supreme Court dissolved Standard Oil, Conoco became an independent company in 1913. By 1929, it was a fully integrated oil company. That same year, Conoco merged with the Marland Oil Company. Marland Oil had been founded by an exploration pioneer named E. W. Marland. In 2002, a massive merger occurred. Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company joined to form ConocoPhillips. This merger allowed the new company to handle massive projects involving remote natural gas.

Financial scale is a major part of the company's identity. ConocoPhillips has held high rankings on several global lists. It was ranked 75th on the Fortune 500 list. In 2023, the Forbes Global 2000 ranked it as the 83rd-largest public company in the world. The company engages in very large financial transactions. In 2006, it bought Burlington Resources for $35 billion. In 2024, it completed a massive $22.5 billion transaction to acquire Marathon Oil. These large numbers show the massive amount of capital involved in global energy production.

There are also significant environmental and legal aspects to its work. In 2019, The Guardian ranked the company as the 14th most polluting company in the world. From 1988 to 2015, the company was responsible for 0.91% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The company has also been involved in many legal disputes. In 2017, Ecuador was ordered to pay the company $380 million for unlawful expropriation. In 2019, the World Bank ruled that Venezuela must pay the company $8.7 billion. These events show how the energy industry interacts with international law and the environment.

ConocoPhillips continues to expand and change its business model. In 2012, the company underwent a major corporate change. It separated its downstream and midstream businesses into a new company called Phillips 66. This allowed ConocoPhillips to focus solely on upstream operations. Upstream refers to the exploration and production side of the business. Today, the company continues to buy and sell assets globally. They recently agreed to a deal to supply 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Uniper. This deal will last for 10 years and serve the northwestern European zone.