COMPANYHISTORIES
SIC 2911

Petroleum Refining

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

39companies1870–1998founding years37still active2no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedAtlantic Richfield Company
1870
FoundedAmoco Corporation
1889
FoundedUSX Corporation
1901
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedThe Williams Companies, Inc.
1908
FoundedCITGO Petroleum Corporation
1910
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedE.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company
1915
FoundedShell Oil Company
1922
FoundedAshland Inc.
1924
FoundedTexaco Inc.
1926
FoundedPremcor Inc.
1932
FoundedCaltex Petroleum Corporation
1936
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
FoundedKoch Industries, Inc.
1942
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedThe Coastal Corporation
1955
FoundedFINA, Inc.
1956
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedFlying J Inc.
1968
FoundedArctic Slope Regional Corporation
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.
FoundedSalomon Inc.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedRepsol S.A.
1987
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.
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.
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.
Amoco Corporation →
Active · founded 1889
Amoco Corporation is active in three main fields within the petroleum, natural gas, and chemical industries:…
Sunoco, Inc. →
Active · founded 1890
Sunoco, Inc.
USX Corporation →
Active · founded 1901
USX Corporation is an international diversified energy and steel-manufacturing company.
Deutsche BP Aktiengesellschaft →
Active · founded 1904 · Germany
Deutsche BP Aktiengesellschaft is one of the top suppliers of petroleum products in the competitively fragmented German…
The Williams Companies, Inc. →
Active · founded 1908
The Williams Companies, Inc., is the largest interstate natural gas supplier in the United States.
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…
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…
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company →
Active · founded 1915
E.I.
Amerada Hess Corporation →
Active · founded 1920
Amerada Hess Corporation operates as a leading integrated oil and gas concern involved in exploration, production,…
PetroFina S.A. →
Defunct · founded 1920 · Belgium
PetroFina S.A., Belgium's largest corporation, is the 15th largest publicly traded integrated oil and gas company in…
Shell Oil Company →
Active · founded 1922
One of North America's leading producers of oil, gas, and petrochemicals, Shell Oil Company has distinguished itself…
Crown Central Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1923 · United States
Crown Central Petroleum Corporation is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products, including…
Ashland Inc. →
Active · founded 1924
Ashland Inc.
Quantum Chemical Corporation →
Active · founded 1924
Quantum Chemical Corporation (prior to 1988, the National Distillers and Chemical Corporation) is one of the largest…
Texaco Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Texaco is one of the world's largest oil companies, with exploratory, manufacturing, and marketing operations across…
The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company →
Active · founded 1926
The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company (LL&E) is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration companies…
Premcor Inc. →
Active · founded 1932
Premcor Inc.
Hunt Consolidated, Inc. →
Active · founded 1934
Hunt Consolidated, Inc.
Caltex Petroleum Corporation →
Active · founded 1936
Caltex Petroleum Corporation is the world's largest and most successful joint venture in business history.
Petroleos Mexicanos →
Active · founded 1938 · Mexico
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is Mexico's largest enterprise in terms of total sales, total assets, personnel employed,…
Koch Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1942
Koch Industries, Inc., a diversified petrochemical company, is the second-largest privately held firm in the United…
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…
Holly Corporation →
Active · founded 1947
Holly Corporation is an independent oil refiner based in Dallas, Texas.
The Coastal Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
The Coastal Corporation, based in Houston with operations in several energy markets, is a Fortune 500 energy company…
Tosco Corporation →
Active · founded 1955
Tosco Corporation is one of the largest independent refiners of petroleum products in the United States.
FINA, Inc. →
Active · founded 1956
FINA, Inc.
R.B. Pamplin Corp. →
Active · founded 1957
R.B.
Flying J Inc. →
Active · founded 1968
Flying J Inc.
Red Apple Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1970
Under the names Gristede's, Sloan's, and Red Apple, Red Apple Group, Inc., wholly owned by John A.
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation →
Active · founded 1972
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) was established following the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement…
Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1972 · China
With more than 55 plants, Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
Salomon Inc. →
Active · founded 1981
Salomon Inc.
Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. →
Active · founded 1986 · Japan
Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.
Repsol S.A. →
Active · founded 1987 · Spain
Repsol S.A.
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.
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…
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