COMPANYHISTORIES
NAIC 32411

Petroleum Refineries

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

56companies1870–2001founding years51still active5no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedAtlantic Richfield Company
1870
FoundedSunoco, Inc.
1890
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedThe Williams Companies, Inc.
1908
FoundedIdemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
1911
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedAshland Inc.
1924
FoundedFarmland Industries, Inc.
1929
FoundedHusky Energy Inc.
1938
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedPertamina
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedMurphy Oil Corporation
1950
FoundedR.B. Pamplin Corp.
1957
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedGiant Industries, Inc.
1969
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
FoundedSaudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)
1976
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
FoundedKuwait Petroleum Corporation
1980
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedLyondell Chemical Company
1985
FoundedPetron Corporation
1987
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedOAO LUKOIL
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
FoundedOAO Siberian Oil Company (Sibneft)
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
FoundedFortum Corporation
1998
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

Atlantic Richfield Company →
Active · founded 1870
Atlantic Richfield Company, better known as ARCO, is the seventh-largest U.S.
Exxon Mobil Corporation →
Active · founded 1882
Exxon Mobil Corporation is the second largest integrated oil company in the world, trailing only BP p.l.c.
BHP Billiton →
Active · founded 1885 · Australia
BHP Billiton was formed through the 2001 merger of Australia's mining and oil giant BHP and U.K.-based mining group…
Sunoco, Inc. →
Active · founded 1890
Sunoco, Inc.
Nippon Oil Corporation →
Active · founded 1893 · Japan
Nippon Oil Corporation is Japan's largest importer and distributor of petroleum products, controlling about 25 percent…
ChevronTexaco Corporation →
Active · founded 1906
ChevronTexaco Corporation is the creation of the 2001 merger of California-based Chevron Corporation, one of the many…
The Williams Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1908
The Williams Companies, Inc., is the largest interstate natural gas supplier in the United States.
CITGO Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1910
CITGO Petroleum Corporation, owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Petróleos de…
Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation →
Active · founded 1910
Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation (UDS), based in San Antonio, Texas, is the second largest independent oil…
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1911 · Japan
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Japan's second largest oil refiner, is named after its founder, Sazou Idemitsu.
Amerada Hess Corporation →
Active · founded 1920
Amerada Hess Corporation operates as a leading integrated oil and gas concern involved in exploration, production,…
Occidental Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1920
Occidental Petroleum Corporation, an oil and gas and chemicals company, conducts its business through two major…
Ashland Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Ashland Inc.
Total Fina Elf S.A. →
Active · founded 1924 · France
1954/55:Trademark "Total" is created and registered.
Compañia Española de Petróleos S.A. (Cepsa) →
Active · founded 1929 · Spain
Compañia Española de Petróleos S.A.
Farmland Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1929
Operating out of Kansas City, Missouri, Farmland Industries, Inc.
Premcor Inc. →
Active · founded 1932
Premcor Inc.
Ipiranga S.A. →
Active · founded 1933 · Brazil
One of Brazil's largest privately held companies, Ipiranga S.A.
Husky Energy Inc. →
Defunct · founded 1938 · Canada
Husky Energy Inc.
TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. →
Active · founded 1939 · Japan
TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K.
Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. →
Active · founded 1942 · Japan
c.
Pertamina →
Active · founded 1945 · Indonesia
Pertamina operates as a state-owned company that controls the oil and natural gas industry in Indonesia.
Chinese Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1946 · Republic of China
Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is a state-owned enterprise that is responsible for the Republic of China's…
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A. →
Active · founded 1947 · Argentina
Petrobras Energia Participaciones S.A.
Murphy Oil Corporation →
Active · founded 1950
Murphy Oil Corporation is one of the smallest of the U.S.-based integrated oil companies.
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…
The Coastal Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
The Coastal Corporation, based in Houston with operations in several energy markets, is a Fortune 500 energy company…
Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1956 · Egypt
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) operates as a state-owned concern overseeing the petroleum industry…
R.B. Pamplin Corp. →
Active · founded 1957
R.B.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. →
Active · founded 1964 · India
The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
Tesoro Petroleum Corporation →
Defunct · founded 1964
Tesoro Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company principally involved in refining, distributing, and…
Giant Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
Early 1980s:Competition from the oil majors forces Acridge to close all his stations in the Phoenix metro area and to…
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation →
Active · founded 1972
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) was established following the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement…
Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) →
Active · founded 1974 · Malaysia
Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, operates as a state-owned entity controlling Malaysia's oil and gas resources.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) →
Active · founded 1976 · Saudi Arabia
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, or SABIC, is one of the world's leading petrochemicals companies.
PTT Public Company Ltd. →
Active · founded 1978 · Thailand
PTT Public Company Ltd., formerly the state-owned Petroleum Authority of Thailand before its privatization and public…
Suncor Energy Inc. →
Active · founded 1979 · Canada
Suncor Energy Inc.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1980 · Kuwait
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) operates as a state-owned integrated oil and gas concern.
Valero Energy Corporation →
Active · founded 1980
Valero Energy Corporation is the leading independent oil refiner in the United States.
Unión Fenosa, S.A. →
Defunct · founded 1982 · Spain
Unión Fenosa, S.A.
Lyondell Chemical Company →
Active · founded 1985
Lyondell Chemical Company is one of the largest U.S.-based chemical manufacturers.
Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1986 · Japan
Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.
Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. →
Active · founded 1986 · Canada
Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd.
Petron Corporation →
Active · founded 1987 · Philippines
Petron Corporation is the Philippines' leading refiner, marketer, and distributor of petroleum-based products.
Repsol-YPF S.A. →
Defunct · founded 1987 · Spain
Repsol-YPF S.A.
Saudi Arabian Oil Company →
Active · founded 1988 · Saudi Arabia
With production capacity of about ten million barrels of crude oil per day, the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Company…
OAO LUKOIL →
Active · founded 1991 · Russia
OAO LUKOIL is one of Russia's most successful efforts at capitalism following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
OAO NK YUKOS →
Active · founded 1993 · Russia
OAO NK YUKOS is the second largest of Russia's integrated oil companies, with an estimated 11.8 billion barrels of oil…
OAO Surgutneftegaz →
Active · founded 1993 · Russia
OAO Surgutneftegaz is one of the top three integrated oil companies in Russia, with an estimated 2.5 billion metric…
OAO Siberian Oil Company (Sibneft) →
Active · founded 1995 · Russia
Moscow-based OAO Siberian Oil Company, known as Sibneft, is one of Russia's top vertically integrated oil concerns.
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.
CHS Inc. →
Active · founded 1998
CHS Inc.
Fortum Corporation →
Active · founded 1998 · Finland
Fortum Corporation is an international energy group formed from the 1998 merger of two state-owned Finnish firms: Neste…
Pennzoil-Quaker State Company →
Active · founded 1998
The Pennzoil-Quaker State Company is a leading worldwide automotive consumer products company formed in 1998, through…
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.
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