Phillips Petroleum Company

The oil company which in 2002 merged with Conoco Inc. to form ConocoPhillipps

History

According to the Conoco Phillips official history:

In 1997, discussions began about the possibility of cleaving Conoco from DuPont. In May 1998, DuPont's board of directors were persuaded that an independent Conoco benefited both companies and shareholders. After nearly 18 years as a DuPont subsidiary, Conoco was moving toward becoming an independent oil company once again.

A successful road show kicked into gear to sell Conoco Inc. to the investment community, culminating in the largest IPO in history, nearly $4.4 billion. Many financial analysts were skeptical the deal would be pulled off, given tremendous upheaval in both the oil and stock markets and a dried-up appetite for public offerings. But company personnel, from top executives to support people, worked countless hours to make the IPO a success. On Oct. 22, 1998, their efforts paid off: Conoco stock began trading again, using a new symbol, "COC," honoring the name it had held for so many years - Continental Oil Company.

In November 2001, Conoco agreed to merge with Phillips Co. The merger, completed in August 2002, created the sixth-largest publicly traded oil company in the world and the third-largest in the United States.