Marathon Oil Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration incorporated in

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and headquartered in the Marathon Oil Tower in Houston, Texas. A direct descendant of Standard Oil, it also runs international gas operations focused on Equatorial Guinea, offshore Central Africa. The company is ranked 534th on the

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

and 1900th on the

Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...

. As of December 31, 2020, the company had of estimated proven reserves, of which 86% was in the United States and 14% was in Equatorial Guinea. The company's proved reserves consisted 52% of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

, 30%

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...

and 18% natural gas liquids. In 2020, the company sold per day, of which 26% was from the Eagle Ford Group, 27% was from the Bakken formation, 17% was from Oklahoma, 7% was from the Northern Delaware Basin, 2% was from other U.S. sources, and 20% was from Equatorial Guinea.

History

Marathon Oil began as "The Ohio Oil Company" in 1887. In 1889, the company was purchased by John D. Rockefeller's

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

. It remained a part of Standard Oil until Standard Oil was broken up in 1911. In 1930, The Ohio Oil Company bought the Transcontinental Oil Company and established the "Marathon" brand name. In 1962, the company changed its name to "Marathon Oil Company". In 1981,

Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

made a

hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...

offer to buy the company. However, the board of Marathon Oil rejected the offer and instead sold the company to United States Steel. A legal battle ensued thereafter. In 1990, the headquarters was moved to Houston, Texas, but the company's refining subsidiary maintained its headquarters in

Findlay, Ohio Findlay ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The second-largest city in Northwest Ohio, Findlay lies about 40 miles (64 km) south of Toledo. The population was 40,313 at the 2020 census. It is home to ...

. In 1984, Marathon purchased the U.S. unit of Husky Energy for $505 million. In 1998, Marathon and

Ashland Global Ashland Global Specialty Chemicals Inc. is an American chemical company which operates in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company traces its roots back to the city of Ashland, Kentucky, where it was headquart ...

contributed their refining operations to Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, now Marathon Petroleum. In 2001, USX, the holding company that owned United States Steel and Marathon, spun off the steel business and, in 2002, USX renamed itself Marathon Oil Corporation. In 2003, Marathon sold its Canadian operations to Husky Energy. In 2003, the company sold its interest in the Yates Oil Field to

Kinder Morgan Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals. Kinder Morgan owns an interest in or operates approximately ...

for $225 million. In 2007, Marathon acquired Western Oil Sands for $6.6 billion and gained ownership of its 20% stake in the Athabasca oil sands in northern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and other assets in the

midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. In 2011, Marathon completed the

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Charact ...

of Marathon Petroleum, distributing a 100% interest to its shareholders. In June 2013, Marathon sold its Angolan oil and gas field to

Sinopec China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (中国石油化工股份有限公司) or Sinopec (), is a Chinese oil and Natural gas, gas enterprise based in Beijing. It is listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai ...

for $1.52 billion. In September 2013, Marathon sold a 10% stake in an oil and gas field offshore

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

for $590 million to

Sonangol Group Group Sonangol ( pt, Grupo Sonangol) is a parastatal that formerly oversaw petroleum and natural gas production in Angola. The group consisted of Sonangol E.P. ( pt, Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola, E.P.) and its many subsidiarie ...

. In October 2014, the company sold its business in Norway to Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA for $2.1 billion. In 2017, it sold its interests in the Athabasca oil sands for $2.5 billion and acquired assets in the

Permian Basin The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

for $1.2 billion. In March 2018, it sold its assets in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

for $450 million to Total SE. In 2020, the company derived 13% of its revenues from sales to Marathon Petroleum and 12% of its revenues from sales to

Koch Industries Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in th ...

Corporate philanthropy

Since 2003, Marathon Oil and its partners Noble Energy and AMPCO, have invested in the

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

Island

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

Control Project (BIMCP) in Equatorial Guinea. The project includes distribution of insecticide nets, indoor residual spraying and

larval A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. T ...

source management, preventive therapy for pregnant women and malaria case management, and investment in a possible malaria vaccine. The project has resulted in a 63% reduction in malaria parasite prevalence and a 63% reduction in the

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...

and 97% reduction in severe

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, ...

in children under 5 years old.

Criticism

Environmental record

According to a 2017 study, the company was responsible for 0.19% of global industrial

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...

from 1988 to 2015.

Dealings in Equatorial Guinea

The company was investigated for payments made to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea. The SEC completed its investigation in 2009 and did not recommend any enforcement action in the matter.Investigation into Marathon Oil's Activities in Equatorial Guinea
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References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in Houston Economy of the Western United States Automotive companies of the United States Chemical companies of the United States Natural gas companies of the United States Oil companies of the United States Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange American companies established in 1887 1887 establishments in Texas Energy companies established in 1887 Oil and gas companies of the United States