ConocoPhillips is a US-based muti-national energy company. ConocoPhillips is a diversified and integrated energy company with operations in all energy industry segments. In 2021, it was ranked the 8th largest petroleum company by market cap and was #156 on the Forbes Fortune 500 list. Regarding the global economy, it is the world’s 574th largest business, with operations in 13 countries. It is one of 5 remaining companies from Standard Oil’s split up and is the result of decades of mergers and acquisitions.
The company’s earliest origins are in 1875 with the birth of Continental Oil and Transportation Company, Conoco. The company grew quickly with the industrial revolution and the widening usage of Kerosene, among other petroleum products, for heating and lighting. By 1885 it had become part of the Standard Oil family of companies, a time in which it also saw explosive growth.
Assets related to the original Conoco were sold to oil exploration leader E.W. Marland and were later remerged following Standard’s demise. By 1929, the company was an independent and fully integrated energy company specializing in crude and derivative products. Phillips Petroleum Company was founded in 1917 as an oil exploration company that quickly expanded into diversified operations. The company hit the big times upon the discovery of natural gas in the Texas panhandle and it saw explosive growth in the war and post-war periods of the early and mid-20th century.
Today, ConocoPhillips explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and bitumen across a diversified portfolio of assets. The company also transports and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), natural gas liquids and their derivative products through a global network of distributors.
The company’s operations span the conventional and tight oil markets, including shale gas, heavy oil, oil sands and other petroleum-related businesses. As of late 2022, the company had more than 6.1 billion barrels of proven oil and oil-equivalent reserves and was producing 1.731 million barrels of crude and equivalents per day. Roughly 50% of operations are centered in the crude oil market while less than 40% are natural gas, with the remainder made up of LNG and bitumen (asphalt).
The company's portfolio includes conventional, unconventional plays in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Assets are primarily located in Alaska (about 33% of US production), Eagle Ford, the Permian Basin, the Bakken, the Gulf of Mexico and the Anadarko Basin. Revenue topped $45.8 billion in 2021 and the company employs about 9,900 worldwide. Exploratory operations are underway in Columbia and Chile where the opportunity for both scale and flexibility is present.
ConocoPhillips was the first major oil company to adopt the Paris Climate Accord and pledge to achieve net-zero scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2050. Areas of focus include increasing operational efficiencies, supporting the reduction of end-use pollutants and advancing low-carbon alternatives, including hydrogen production and fuel cells.
