History Of Major Oil Companies In The Gulf Region

1889: Standard Oil (Indiana) founded as subsidiary of Standard Oil Trust
1911: Standard Oil of Indiana founded with dissolution of Standard Oil

1910s: Standard Oil of Indiana purchases Pan American Petroleum

1914: Standard Oil of Indiana licenses "thermal cracking" process for producing gasoline to competing oil companies

1925: Standard Oil of Indiana acquires controlling interest in Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company

1932: Standard Oil of Indiana sells Venezuela operation to Jersey

1954: Pan American and Standard of Indiana merge, new company is called American Oil Company [Amoco]

1957: Begins joint venture with Iran independent of Iranian Oil Consortium

1958: Amoco signs agreement with Shah of Iran

1960s: Amoco Egypt Oil Company, Cairo, founded

1980s: Amoco Sharjah Oil Company, Sharjah, U.A.E., in partnership with UEA, produces natural gas and natural gas liquids in Sharjah

1990s: Amoco Oman Oil Company begins oil and gas exploration program

Amoco Corporation,
200 East Randolph Drive,
Chicago, IL 60601-7125;
phone: (312) 856-6111;
e-mail: info@amoco.com.

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1866: Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company founded
1870: Atlantic Petroleum Storage Company establishes Atlantic Refining Company (Atlantic)

1874: Atlantic sold to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust

1905: Richfield Oil Corporation founded

1911: Standard Oil Trust dissolved under Sherman Antitrust Act, and Atlantic is spun off as independent company

1916: Sinclair Oil Corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair

1931: Richfield goes into receivership and Sinclair merges with Rio Grande Oil and Prairie Pipeline and Prairie Oil and Gas Companies

1936: Richfield Oil Corporation emerges from receivership

1952: Atlantic begins offshore Gulf Coast production

1963: Atlantic purchased the Hondo Oil & Gas Company

1966: Richfield Oil Corporation merges with Atlantic Refining Company, creating Atlantic Richfield Company [ARCO]

1968: ARCO partners with Exxon for Alaskan North Slope production

1969: ARCO acquires Sinclair Oil Corporation

1972: ARCO headquarters moves from New York City to Los Angeles

1977: ARCO acquires the Anaconda Company

1985: ARCO divests East Coast marketing and refining operations

1988: Tricentrol acquired by ARCO

1988: ARCO completes merger with Houston based Union Texas Petroleum Holding Inc

1989: ARCO forms anew publicly held company, Lyondell Petrochemical

1993: ARCO's U.S. oil and gas business restructured and divided into four business units—ARCO Permian, ARCO Western Energy, ARCO Long Beach, Inc., and Vastar Resources, Inc.

1994: Vastar Resources Inc. initiates a public offering of 17 million shares of its common stock

1996: ARCO signs Production Sharing Contract with Sonatrach, the Algerian state oil company, to undertake major Enhanced Oil Recovery project in Algeria's second largest oil field, Rhourde El Baguel

1997: ARCO and Russia's largest oil company, LUKOIL, sign joint venture agreement to invest in oil and gas projects in Russia and other countries

1998: ARCO subsidiary (Western Midway Co.) and a unit of Mobil Corporation reaches agreement to exchange oil and gas properties in California's San Joaquin Valley and the Gulf of Mexico; The California properties owned by Western Midway go to Mobil, while Mobil oil and gas properties in the Gulf go to Western Midway. Upon completion of the exchange, Western Midway will be sold to Vastar Resources Inc. (82.2% owned by ARCO)

1998: ARCO sells majority interest in ARCO Chemical Company and divests its coal assets in the U.S.

Arco Corporate Headquarters
515 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 486-3511

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1924: Ashland Refining Company of Ashland, Ky., founded as a refining arm of Swiss Oil Company of Lexington
1930: Ashland Purchases Tri-State Refining

1931: Acquires Cumberland Pipeline Company's eastern Kentucky pipeline network

1936: Ashland Refining merges with Swiss Oil to form Ashland Oil & Refining Company

1946: Ashland Oil & Refining Company products first sold under the brand name "Ashland"

1948: Ashland and Allied Oil merge

1949: Ashland and Aetna Oil merge, Ashland acquires Kentucky retail marketing operation Freedom-Valvoline, including Valvoline Motor Oil brand and also acquires Southern Pipe Line Company

1950: Frontier Oil Refining of Buffalo, N.Y., and National Refining of Cleveland, Ohio, join Ashland

1956: Acquisition of R. J. Brown Company of St. Louis.

1963: Ashland acquires United Oil
1966: Ashland acquires Warren Brothers construction company

1967: Ashland purchases ADM Chemical Group and forms Ashland

1969: Ashland forms Ashland Petroleum operating division and Arch Mineral

1970: Ashland changes name to Ashland Oil, Inc.

1970: Ashland acquires Northwestern Refining of St. Paul, Minn. and the SuperAmerica retail marketing chain

1971: Exploration and production activities are consolidated into Ashland Exploration

1975: Construction division is formed, and Ashland Coal is created

1991: Ashland acquires The Permian Corporation and merges with Scurlock Oil Company

1992: Ashland Chemical acquires most of Unocal's chemical distribution business, establishing the IC&S Division

1994: Ashland's Valvoline acquires Zerex

1995: Ashland changes company's name to Ashland Inc.

1997: Ashland signs agreements with Marathon to combine the refining, marketing and transportation assets of the companies. Ashland acquires 38 percent of Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC

Ashland Inc. Headquarters
1000 Ashland Drive
Russell, KY 41169
(606) 329-3333

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1879: Pacific Coast Oil Company established
1900: Pacific Coast Oil purchased by Standard Oil, but remains separate operation

1906: Pacific Coast Oil consolidated with other Western US operations of Standard Oil into Standard Oil Company (California)

1911: Dissolution of Standard Oil Trust makes Standard Oil of California (Socal) independent

1926: Socal merges with Pacific Oil Company

1929: Socal establishes Bahrain Petroleum Company to hold Bahrain concession

1932: Bahrain Petroleum strikes oil in Bahrain

1933: Socal wins Saudi Arabia concession; Socal establishes California-Arabia Standard Oil Company, Casoc, to hold concession for Saudi Arabia

1933: Socal discoveries oil in Saudi Arabia

1936: Texaco joins with Standard Oil of California (later Chevron), to found the Arab-American Oil Company [Aramco]

1936: Texaco purchases half interest in Bahrain Petroleum and California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (Calarabian) from Socal

1936: California-Texas company, Caltex, founded as a joint venture between Socal and Texaco as outlet for future oil production in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia

1954: Consortium of oil companies, including British Petroleum, Exxon, Socony, Texas Oil, Socal, Gulf, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, and CFP form the Iranian Oil Participants Ltd. (IOP) and negotiate agreement with Iranian government and for oil production in Iran

1961: Socal buys Standard of Kentucky

1974: Bahraini government acquires 60% interest in BAPCO

1980: Bahraini government acquires remaining interest in BAPCO

1984: Socal buys Gulf Corporation and after restructuring changes name to Chevron Corporation

1993: Chevron undertakes a joint venture with the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan forming a new company named Tengizchevroil

1993: Pennzoil Company assimilates Chevron

Chevron Corporation
575 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-2856
415-894-7700

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1875: Continental Oil and Transportation Company founded
1885: Continental Oil and Transportation Company reincorporated as Continental within the Standard Oil trust

1913: Continental Oil reincorporated after breakup of Standard Oil Trust

1917: Marland Oil Company founded

1929: Continental Oil company merged with portions of Rocky Mountain (a former component of Standard oil) and Marland

Mid-1950s: Continental joins partnership with Marathon and Amerada, called Oasis Group

1981: Conoco becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of by E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company

1981: Conoco reorganized as Continental Group

Conoco Center
600 North Dairy Ashford
Houston, TX 77079
P.O. Box 2197
Houston, TX
ZIP Code 77252
Phone: (281) 293-1000
Telex: 775347
Fax: (281) 293-1440

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1882: Standard Oil of New Jersey formed by Standard Oil Trust
1888: Standard Oil of New Jersey establishes Anglo-American Oil Co. (predecessor of Esso Petroleum Co.) to market oil in the British Isles

1899: Standard Oil of New Jersey becomes a holding company for Standard Oil Interests, a subsidiary of Standard Oil

1898: Standard Oil of New Jersey gains control of Imperial Oil Limited of Canada

1928: Standard Oil of New Jersey acquires interest in Turkish (now Iraq) Petroleum Co.

1911: Standard Oil of New Jersey [Jersey] becomes independent with dissolution of Standard Oil Trust

1911: Humble Oil Company formed

1919: Jersey acquires majority ownership of Humble Oil

1930: Anglo-American acquired by Jersey

1933: Socony-Vacuum and Standard of New Jersey merge their Far East facilities and interests into a 50-50 venture called Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., or Stanvac

1947: Jersey affiliate, Imperial, strikes oil in Canada

1947: Anglo-Iranian, Jersey and Socony sign 20-year contract with Iran

1948: Jersey (30%) and Socony-Vacuum (10%) join Socal (30%) and Texaco (30%) in Aramco venture

1959: Jersey buys remainder of Humble Oil

1959: Jersey strikes oil in Libya

1960: Jersey begins to market gasoline under the brand name Esso

1960: Jersey purchases Monterey Oil

1961: Jersey buys Honolulu Oil

1962: Assets of Stanvac split between Jersey and Socony Mobil

1972: Jersey changes name to Exxon

1972: Iraq nationalizes Iraq Petroleum Company, of which Exxon is 12% owner

1972: Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar acquire 25% interest in Exxon's production operations (in country), with right to increase stake to 51% by 1982

1980: Exxon buys Colony Oil Shale Project

1981: Exxon sells Esso Standard Libya to Libyan government

1982: Exxon ends Colony Oil Shale Project

1985: Exxon acquires 48% of Hunt Oil Company's production sharing agreement in North Yemen

1998: Exxon and Mobil announce plans for merger

5959 Las Colinas Blvd.
Irving, TX 75039-2298
Phone: 972-444-1000
Fax: 972-444-1882

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)