ConocoPhillips

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ConocoPhillips is an "international, integrated energy company. It is the third largest integrated energy company in the United States, based on market capitalization, and oil and gas reserves and production. Worldwide it is the sixth largest publicly owned energy company, based on oil and gas reserves, and the fifth largest refiner."[1]

"Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips operates in more than 40 countries. The company has approximately 38,700 employees worldwide and assets of $173 billion. ConocoPhillips stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COP."

In 2002, Conoco merged with Phillips. In 2000, Phillips had acquired ARCO’s Alaska crude oil holdings and in 2001 it purchased Tosco—the largest independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the U.S. at the time.

Today, CP is the biggest natural-gas producer in North America thanks to its acquisition of Burlington Resources in 2005. It's the No. 2 oil refiner in the U.S. behind BP. Its global oil reserves are 5.7 billion (making it 4th among the large publicly traded oil companies). 2007 profits were $11.9 billion, down from 2006 because of the nationalization of its oil holdings in VZ.

Access ConocoPhillips's corporate rap sheet compiled and written by Good Jobs First here.

Support for the American Legislative Exchange Council

ConocoPhillips was a "Director" level sponsor of 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference, which in 2010, equated to $10,000.[1]

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Ties to Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission

The company served as a sponsor for the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission's 2014 and 2015 annual meetings held in both Columbus, Ohio and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[2][3]

Overview

ConocoPhillips has "four core activities" worldwide:

  • Petroleum exploration and production.
  • Petroleum refining, marketing, supply and transportation.
  • Natural gas gathering, processing and marketing, including a 30.3 percent interest in Duke Energy Field Services.
  • Chemicals and plastics production and distribution through a 50 percent interest in Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

ConocoPhillips is known worldwide for its technological expertise in deepwater exploration and production, reservoir management and exploitation, 3-D seismic, high-grade petroleum coke upgrading and sulfur removal. In addition, the company has two emerging businesses under development which hold significant future potential - natural gas refining and power generation.

Revenues and tax breaks

In the first half of 2012, ConocoPhillips reported total profits of $5.2 billion. It is ranked as the ninth-largest company in the world in the Global Fortune 500.[4] ConocoPhillips reported a 2012 third-quarter profit of $1.8 billion.[5]

ConocoPhillips had a 2011 profit of $12.4 billion and received an estimated $600 million dollars in tax breaks.[6]

US Expansion Plans

Plans $7 billion in downstream investments from 2008-2013 to boost processing of cheaper types of crude oil by 5 percent, or 365,000 barrels per day. The projects are designed to better refine sulphur diesel and jet fuel from less expensive but difficult to refine heavy sour crudes and Canadian oil sands. [2]

Refineries

Gas export terminals

Freeport LNG Development, L.P. designed, built and operates the Freeport LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Freeport, Texas. ConocoPhillips has bought two-thirds of the capacity of Freeport LNG and Dow Chemical the remaining third. Construction began in 2005 and was originally planned for LNG import, but is shifting to exports,[7] approved by the DOE in 2013 and slated for export of 1.4 billion cubic feet per day by 2020.[8]

Environment

"ConocoPhillips, in a well-publicized partnership with food giant Tyson to manufacture alternative fuels from animal fats, abruptly halted their plans last year when these initiatives failed to receive Federal subsidies." [9]

Tar Sand Production, Transporting, Refining

ConocoPhillips owns 9.03% of the joint venture, Syncrude with ExxonMobil, Canadian Oil Sands Trust, Murphy Oil, Mocal Energy, Nexen Inc., and Petro-Canada.

In 2003, ConocoPhillips began its Alberta Surmont oil sands project. Construction began in 2004, and production in 2006.

On October 5, 2006, ConocoPhillips publicly announced the formation of a joint venture with EnCana Corporation to create an integrated North American heavy-oil business. The venture consists of two 50/50 business ventures—a Canadian upstream general partnership, FCCL Oil Sands Partnership, and a U.S. downstream limited liability company, WRB Refining LLC. According to the press release, “JPMorgan Chase acted as advisor to ConocoPhillips on this transaction, and Credit Suisse acted as advisor to EnCana.”

FCCL Oil Sands Partnership (FCCL)—50 percent owned business venture with EnCana—produces heavy-oil in the Athabasca oil sands in northeast Alberta, as well as transports and sells the bitumen blend.

WRB Refining LLC (WRB)—50 percent owned business venture with EnCana—processes crude oil at the Wood River and Borger refineries, as well as purchases and transports all feedstocks for the refineries and sells the refined products.

Keystone Oil Pipeline

In December 2007, CP acquired a 50 percent equity interest in the Keystone Pipeline to form a 50/50 joint venture with TransCanada Corporation. Construction began on the pipeline in 2008. Original plans were to construct a crude oil pipeline originating in Hardisty, Alberta, with delivery points at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, and Cushing, Oklahoma.

Political contributions

ConocoPhillips gave $313,000 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC) - 9% to Democrats, 90% to Republicans, and 1% to other parties. [10]

Lobbying

In 2011, ConocoPhillips spent over $20 million lobbying Congress, making it the top spender of the oil and gas industry.[11]

"A senior Justice Department official who recently resigned her post bought a nearly $1 million vacation home with a lobbyist for ConocoPhillips months before approving consent decrees that would give the oil company more time to pay millions of dollars in fines and meet pollution-cleanup rules at some of its refineries," reported the Washington Post in February 2007. The official, former assistant attorney general on environment and natural resources issues Sue Ellen Wooldridge, "bought a $980,000 home on Kiawah Island, S.C., last March with ConocoPhillips lobbyist Don R. Duncan. A third owner of the house is J. Steven Griles, a former deputy interior secretary, who has been informed he is a target in the federal investigation of Jack Abramoff's lobbying activities." [3]

The company spent $1,918,291 for lobbying in 2006. $140,000 of this total went to an outside lobbying firm Hunton & Williams. [12]

Personnel

2012 pay:

  • By 2012, ConocoPhillips outgoing CEO James Mulva received over $15 million in yearly compensation, earning nearly $80 million over five years.[13]

Executives and 2006 pay:

Board of Directors: [18]

Contact information

P.O. Box 2197
Houston, TX 77252-2197
Phone: (281) 293-1000
Web: http://www.conocophillips.com

Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ [American Legislative Exchange Council, 2011 Conference Sponsors, conference brochure on file with CMD, August 11, 2011]
  2. ↑ IOGCC 2014 "2015 Annual Conference: Oklahoma City, OK", DeSmogBlog.com, accessed April 2016.
  3. ↑ IOGCC 2014 Annual Meeting Sponsors
  4. ↑ Noreen Nielsen and Jackie Weidman, "ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: $5.2 Billion in 2012 Profits, $21 Million Lobbying Congress In Past 18 Months," Climate Progress, July 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ "ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: Earns $1.8 Billion Profit, Gets $600 Million In Annual Tax Breaks," Climate Progress, Oct. 25, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Romney Tax Plan: Many Happy Returns for Big Oil," Center for American Progress, July 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Freeport: Welcome to our website," Freeport LNG Development, accessed April 2012.
  8. ↑ Zack Colman, "DOE gives green light to controversial natural gas export project," The Hill, May 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Politics of Climate Change", O'Dwyer Magazine, Feb. 2010.
  10. ↑ 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets.
  11. ↑ Noreen Nielsen and Jackie Weidman, "ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: $5.2 Billion in 2012 Profits, $21 Million Lobbying Congress In Past 18 Months," Climate Progress, July 25, 2012.
  12. ↑ ConocoPhillips lobbying expenses, Open Secrets.
  13. ↑ Noreen Nielsen and Jackie Weidman, "ConocoPhillips By The Numbers: $5.2 Billion in 2012 Profits, $21 Million Lobbying Congress In Past 18 Months," Climate Progress, July 25, 2012.
  14. ↑ James J Mulva, Forbes, accessed February 2008.
  15. ↑ William B Berry, Forbes, accessed February 2008.
  16. ↑ John A Carrig, Forbes, accessed February 2008.
  17. ↑ James L Gallogly, Forbes, accessed February 2008.
  18. ↑ ConocoPhillips board of directors, accessed June 2007.

External articles

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