History
Marathon began as The Ohio Oil Company in 1887. In 1889, it was purchased by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil trust. It remained a part of Standard Oil until the trust was broken in 1911. In 1930, The Ohio bought the Transcontinental Oil Company, giving it the "Marathon" brand name. In 1962, the company changed its name to "Marathon Oil Company" after its main brand name. Mobil wanted to buy the company in 1981. The residents of Findlay, Ohio, the corporation's home town, worried that the Findlay jobs would be lost so Marathon looked for a white knight. They found one in 1982 when United States Steel bought the company. The headquarters moved to Houston in 1990 but the company maintained downstream operations in Findlay (which are 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 1998, Marathon and Ashland, Inc., formed Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC to refine, market and transport crude oil and petroleum products, primarily in the Midwest, the upper Great Plains and southeastern United States.
In 2003, Marathon sold off its Canadian operations to Calgary-based Husky Energy. In that same year, they sold off their interest in the giant Yates Oil Field to Kinder Morgan.
In late 2003, Marathon Oil and partners (Noble Energy, AMPCO) started the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) in Equatorial Guinea. Malaria control activities included indoor residual spraying, improved diagnosis and case management, and capacity building to contain future outbreaks. As of late 2005, BIMCP had proven being successful in reducing malaria transmission, reducing the proportion of children with malaria parasites, and improving iron status. BIMCP is perceived as a model of hands-on corporate involvement in a humanitarian effort with government, non-profits and academic organizations to reduce the burden of malaria in countries located in Equatorial Africa. Equatorial Guinea's President Obiang Nguema is one of the world's worst dictators (Parade Magazine). Marathon's humanitarian efforts have mitigated some of the criticism resulting from their dealings with Nguema's regime.
On January 13, 2011, Marathon moved forward with plans to spin-off Marathon Petroleum. The spin-off was completed on July 1, 2011.
Marathon Oil is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
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