Marathon Petroleum vs Phillips 66: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66 side by side

1. 1887Marathon Petroleum

   Founding of The Ohio Oil Company

   Several small oil companies banded together to form The Ohio Oil Company in Lima, Ohio, at the dawn of the American petroleum industry. The company was founded to exploit the Lima-Indiana oil field, one of the nation's first major oil discoveries.

2. 1889Marathon Petroleum

   Acquisition by Standard Oil Trust

   John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil purchased The Ohio Oil Company, and its corporate headquarters moved from Lima to Findlay, Ohio, in 1889.

3. 1906Marathon Petroleum

   First pipeline constructed

   Ohio Oil constructed its first pipeline, running from Martinsville, Illinois, to Preble, Indiana, marking the beginning of the company's integrated transportation infrastructure.

4. 1911Marathon Petroleum

   Independence after Standard Oil breakup

   The U.S. Supreme Court broke up the Standard Oil monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Ohio Oil Company became independent again, free to pursue its own strategy but stripped of the protective umbrella of the world's largest corporation.

5. 1917Phillips 66

   Phillips Petroleum Founded

   Frank and L.E. Phillips, brothers who had entered the Oklahoma oil business in 1903 and briefly pivoted to banking, incorporate Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, with about $3 million in assets and 27 employees.

6. 1924Marathon Petroleum

   Purchase of Lincoln Oil Refining Company

   Ohio Oil purchased Lincoln Oil Refining Company, which included the Robinson refinery in Illinois and 17 Linco brand service stations in Robinson and Terre Haute, Indiana, expanding into refining and retail.

7. 1927Phillips 66

   Phillips 66 Brand Emerges

   The Phillips 66 gasoline brand becomes the consumer-facing identity of the refining and marketing business.

8. 1930Marathon Petroleum

   Purchase of Transcontinental Oil and Marathon brand adoption

   Ohio Oil purchased Transcontinental Oil Company, acquiring oil and natural gas wells, three refineries, bulk storage plants, and filling stations.

9. 1953Marathon Petroleum

   First metal credit plate introduced

   The Ohio Oil Company was the first to introduce the metal credit plate, the precursor to the modern credit card, to build customer loyalty at Marathon service stations.

10. 1959Marathon Petroleum

    Purchase of Aurora Gasoline Company and Detroit refinery

    The company purchased Aurora Gasoline Company, acquiring 680 service stations featuring the Speedway 79 Stratofuel brand, and purchased the Detroit refinery from philanthropist Max Fisher.

11. 1962Marathon Petroleum

    Name changed to Marathon Oil Company

    The company officially changed its name from The Ohio Oil Company to Marathon Oil Company, reflecting the dominance of the Marathon brand and the company's evolution into a national integrated petroleum enterprise.

12. 1982Marathon Petroleum

    Acquisition by U.S. Steel Corporation

    Marathon Oil was acquired by U.S. Steel Corporation (later USX Corporation) in a $6.5 billion deal, becoming part of a diversified industrial conglomerate that combined steel and energy operations.

13. 2000Phillips 66

    Chevron Phillips Chemical Formed

    Phillips Petroleum and Chevron combined their chemicals businesses in 2000 to form Chevron Phillips Chemical, now half owned by Phillips 66.

14. 2001Marathon Petroleum

    Split from USX Corporation

    USX Corporation split into two independent companies: United States Steel Corporation and Marathon Oil Corporation. The newly independent Marathon Oil focused on exploration and production, with headquarters in Houston, Texas.

15. 2002Phillips 66

    ConocoPhillips Formed

    Phillips Petroleum and Conoco merge, combining upstream and downstream assets.

16. 2011Marathon Petroleum

    Spin-off of Marathon Petroleum Corporation

    On July 1, 2011, Marathon Petroleum Corporation became a stand-alone refining, marketing and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio.

17. 2012Phillips 66

    Phillips 66 Spin-Off

    ConocoPhillips spins off Phillips 66 as an independent downstream, midstream, chemicals, and marketing company under new then-CEO Greg Garland.

18. 2013Marathon Petroleum

    Acquisition of BP Texas City refinery

    In February 2013 Marathon Petroleum acquired BP's Texas City refinery and related assets, later integrating it with its neighboring Texas City plant into the Galveston Bay refinery.

19. 2013Phillips 66

    Phillips 66 Partners IPO

    Phillips 66 listed its pipeline partnership, Phillips 66 Partners, in July 2013.

20. 2018Marathon Petroleum

    Acquisition of Andeavor

    On October 1, 2018, Marathon Petroleum completed the acquisition of Andeavor for $23.3 billion in equity and $35.6 billion in enterprise value.

21. 2021Marathon Petroleum

    Sale of Speedway to 7-Eleven

    Marathon Petroleum completed the $21 billion sale of its Speedway convenience store business (about 3,800 stores) to 7-Eleven in May 2021, after announcing the deal in August 2020. Proceeds funded debt reduction and large share repurchases.

22. 2022Phillips 66

    Mark Lashier becomes CEO

    Mark Lashier became CEO of Phillips 66 in 2022. Under Lashier, Phillips 66 bought out DCP Midstream (about $3.8 billion, 2023), Cenovus's 50% of WRB Refining ($1.4 billion, 2025) and EPIC NGL (about $2.2 billion, 2025), sold most of its European retail busines…

23. 2023Phillips 66

    DCP Midstream Fully Acquired

    Phillips 66 completes its roughly $3.8 billion acquisition of DCP Midstream's publicly held units, expanding NGL scale.

24. 2024Marathon Petroleum

    Maryann Mannen becomes CEO

    Maryann T. Mannen, previously CFO, became President and CEO on August 1, 2024, succeeding Michael J. Hennigan.

25. 2025Marathon Petroleum

    FY2025 results: $132.7B revenue, $4.0B net income

    MPC reported $132.7 billion in sales and other operating revenues, $4.0 billion of net income attributable to MPC, about $12.0 billion of adjusted EBITDA and $8.3 billion of operating cash flow, and returned $4.5 billion to shareholders.

26. 2025Phillips 66

    Elliott Management Proxy Fight

    Activist investor Elliott Management, holding a $2.5 billion stake, pushes to spin off Phillips 66's Midstream business; a contested proxy vote ends with Elliott winning two board seats but not the breakup.

27. 2025Phillips 66

    FY2025 Revenue

    Phillips 66 reports $132.376 billion of sales and other operating revenues and completes the $1.4 billion purchase of Cenovus's 50% WRB Refining interest.

28. 2025Phillips 66

    Acquired EPIC NGL (renamed Coastal Bend)

    Phillips 66 acquired EPIC NGL (renamed Coastal Bend) for $2.2 billion. Phillips 66 acquired EPIC Y-Grade, the owner of NGL pipelines and fractionators in South Texas, for about $2.2 billion in 2025 and renamed the business Coastal Bend.

29. 2026Marathon Petroleum

    Q2 2026 earnings surge

    Net income attributable to MPC reached $5.1 billion ($17.73 per diluted share) in Q2 2026 on $8.5 billion of adjusted EBITDA, as crack spreads rose in all regions; yield projects at El Paso and Robinson came online.

30. 2026Phillips 66

    Record Second Quarter and Debt Paydown

    Second-quarter 2026 earnings reach $3.847 billion ($9.55 per diluted share), refining utilization hits 96%, and total debt falls by $6.6 billion to $20.6 billion.

Acquisitions

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