COMPANYHISTORIES
SIC 1321

Natural Gas Liquids

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

25companies1880–2001founding years23still active2no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedImperial Oil Limited
1880
FoundedSunoco, Inc.
1890
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedDuke Energy Corporation
1905
FoundedThe British Petroleum Company plc
1909
FoundedNorthwest Natural Gas Company
1910
FoundedCanadian Utilities Limited
1911
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedQuantum Chemical CorporationFoundedTotal Fina Elf S.A.
1924
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedMitchell Energy and Development Corporation
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedNational Iranian Oil Company
1951
FoundedENI S.p.A.
1953
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedAbu Dhabi National Oil CompanyFoundedNigerian National Petroleum Corporation
1971
FoundedStatoil ASA
1972
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
FoundedDynegy Inc.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedBurlington Resources Inc.
1988
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
FoundedBP p.l.c.
1998
FoundedE.On AG
2000
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Imperial Oil Limited →
Active · founded 1880 · Canada
Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest producer of crude oil and a leading producer of natural gas.
Sunoco, Inc. →
Active · founded 1890
Sunoco, Inc.
Duke Energy Corporation →
Active · founded 1905
The largest publicly owned gas and electric utility in the United States, Duke Energy Corporation serves roughly two…
Norsk Hydro ASA →
Active · founded 1905
Norsk Hydro ASA is the largest public industrial company in Norway, with operations in three core areas: oil and…
The British Petroleum Company plc →
Active · founded 1909 · England
One of the five largest oil companies in the world, The British Petroleum Company plc (BP) is the United Kingdom's…
Northwest Natural Gas Company →
Active · founded 1910
Northwest Natural Gas Company, which does business as Northwest Natural, distributes natural gas to approximately…
Canadian Utilities Limited →
Active · founded 1911 · Canada
Company Origins: 1900-25 The earliest enterprise of Canadian Utilities Limited was Canadian Western Natural Gas…
British-Borneo Oil & Gas PLC →
Active · founded 1912 · United Kingdom
Formerly known as The British-Borneo Petroleum Syndicate, British-Borneo Oil & Gas PLC is one of the United Kingdom's…
Quantum Chemical Corporation →
Active · founded 1924
Quantum Chemical Corporation (prior to 1988, the National Distillers and Chemical Corporation) is one of the largest…
Total Fina Elf S.A. →
Active · founded 1924 · France
1954/55:Trademark "Total" is created and registered.
Gaz de France →
Defunct · founded 1946 · France
Not content to be Europe's third largest provider of natural gas, Gaz de France (GDF) is gunning for that market's top…
Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation →
Active · founded 1946
Mitchell Energy & Development Corporation is one of the Houston-Galveston area's leading real estate developers and one…
National Iranian Oil Company →
Active · founded 1951 · Iran
The second largest producer of oil among Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) companies in 2003,…
ENI S.p.A. →
Active · founded 1953 · Italy
ENI S.p.A., the former Italian state-owned Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, is one of the world's top ten oil and natural…
Sonatrach →
Active · founded 1963 · Algeria
Sonatrach, formerly Entreprise Nationale Sonatrach, is the Algerian state-owned oil and gas company.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company →
Active · founded 1971 · United Arab Emirates
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is one of the ten largest oil companies in the world.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1971 · Nigeria
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the holding company that oversees the Nigerian state's interests…
Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1972 · China
With more than 55 plants, Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
Statoil ASA →
Active · founded 1972 · Norway
Formerly known as Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap AS, Statoil ASA is Norway's oil and gas powerhouse.
Dynegy Inc. →
Active · founded 1984
Dynegy Inc.
Burlington Resources Inc. →
Active · founded 1988
Burlington Resources Inc., the nation's largest independent natural gas exploration and production company, functioned…
Western Gas Resources, Inc. →
Active · founded 1989
Western Gas Resources, Inc.
BP p.l.c. →
Defunct · founded 1998 · United Kingdom
Formed by the 1998 merger of British Petroleum Company and Amoco Corporation, BP p.l.c.
E.On AG →
Active · founded 2000 · Germany
E.On AG is the largest listed power generation company in Europe.
ConocoPhillips →
Active · founded 2001
ConocoPhillips is the third largest U.S.
Build It Today

Starting a natural gas liquids company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories with today's tools and capital.