Marathon Petroleum is an independent downstream company: it does not drill for oil. It buys crude, refines it into transportation fuels and other products at 13 refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and West Coast regions, and moves those products through pipelines and terminals largely owned by MPLX. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, it employed about 18,200 people at the end of 2025.
Marathon Petroleum makes money in three reported segments. Refining & Marketing, the largest, buys crude oil and other feedstocks, processes them in 13 refineries (about 3.0 million barrels per calendar day) and sells gasoline, distillates, asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks to wholesale buyers, branded Marathon and ARCO dealers, exporters and industrial customers; profits track the crack spread between crude and product prices. Midstream, conducted mainly through MPLX LP, earns largely fee-based income from pipelines, terminals, storage, gas gathering and processing, and NGL fractionation, and pays MPC a growing cash distribution. Renewable Diesel covers the Dickinson, North Dakota plant and the Martinez Renewables joint venture with Neste. MPC sold its Speedway convenience stores to 7-Eleven in May 2021, so it no longer runs a large company-owned retail chain but supplies branded independent stations.