PHILLIPS 66 — THE CHICAGO BRAND MUSEUM

Phillips Petroleum was founded in 1917 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma by brothers Frank and L.E. Phillips. The company produced, refined, and sold petroleum and petroleum-based products during the rapid expansion of the American oil industry. In 1927, during a test run of its high-octane gasoline, a driver reportedly reached a top speed of 66 mph along U.S. Route 66, inspiring the introduction of the famous Phillips 66 Gasoline brand. Following this success, Phillips 66 opened its first service station on November 19, 1928, and expanded rapidly, building more than 500 stations by the end of the 1930s.

BORN ON ROUTE 66

PHILLIPS 66 THROUGH THE YEARS

Decades later, in 2002, Phillips Petroleum merged with Conoco to form ConocoPhillips, keeping the Phillips 66 name. In 2012, the company split, with ConocoPhillips focused on finding and producing crude oil (upstream operations), while Phillips 66 took over refining, fuel production, and marketing (downstream operations). As a result of its long development, Phillips 66 has become one of the most well-known names in global energy, expanding across the United States and international markets while helping modernize the petroleum industry.