Richfield Oil Corporation was an American petroleum company based in California from 1911 to 1966. In 1966, it merged with

Atlantic Refining Company Atlantic Petroleum was an oil company in the Eastern United States headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a direct descendant of the Standard Oil Trust. It was also one of the companies that merged with Richfield Oil Corporation to for ...

to form the

Atlantic Richfield Company Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (bran ...

(later renamed ARCO).

History

The Richfield Oil Corporation was founded in 1911, and opened its first automotive service station in Los Angeles in 1917. After quick expansion, Richfield Oil Corp fell to the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and went into receivership in 1931. Cities Service Company (now known as Citgo) offered one share of stock for every four Richfield's and acquired a majority of the stock. Consolidated Oil Corporation (in 1943 renamed Sinclair Oil Corp), in 1932, offered to buy Richfield Oil. While this offer was not accepted,

Harry Ford Sinclair Harry Ford Sinclair (July 6, 1876 – November 10, 1956) was an American industrialist, and the founder of Sinclair Oil. He was implicated in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, and served six months in prison for contempt of Congress. Although this ...

, president of Consolidated Oil, continued to pursue Richfield Oil and prevented

Standard Oil of California Chevron Corporation is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, energy corporation predominantly specializing in Petroleum industry, oil and gas. The second-largest Successors of Standard Oil, direct descenda ...

(now known as Chevron) from taking over the company. Consolidated Oil Corp, in 1935, bought Richfield's eastern United States operations. This maneuver removed Standard Oil of California's interest in Richfield Oil. The east coast gas stations would later be rebranded as Sinclair stations. Richfield Oil Corp emerged from receivership in 1936, after Rio Grande controlled by Consolidated Oil Corp and Cities Service Company agreed to a merger between Richfield Oil and Rio Grande. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, two Richfield Oil tanks were bombarded by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

on February 23, 1942, in an attack on the

Ellwood oil field Ellwood Oil Field (also spelled "Elwood") and South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field are a pair of adjacent, partially active oil fields adjoining the city of Goleta, California, about west of Santa Barbara, largely in the Santa Barbara Channel. A r ...

, which is west of the city of Santa Barbara in California. This attack by the Japanese submarine ''I-17'' was the first attack on continental America during the war. Richfield Oil sponsored

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

's model freeway ''

Autopia Autopia is a race track attraction at various Disney theme parks, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Disneyland at Anaheim, California and Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallé ...

'' from 1955 to 1970. The company merged with Atlantic Refining to form Atlantic Richfield Corp, later known as ARCO, in 1966. After spinning off Atlantic Refining to Sonoco, ARCO was purchased by BP plc in 2000. The construction of the Richfield Tower in Los Angeles. This 12 story black and gold

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

building was completed in 1929. This building served as Richfield's headquarters for many years. It was demolished in 1968. Opening of the California Carson Oil Refinery in 1938. The Richfield Oil Corp was the first to discover commercial quantities of oil in the state of Alaska. This occurred in 1957 on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

. Richfield's success at Kenai helped push their leasing tracks at

Prudhoe Bay Prudhoe Bay is a town located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 1,310 people, down from 2,174 residents in the 2010 census, and up from just 5 residents in 2000; however ...

, which later served to benefit ARCO.

Merger with Atlantic Refining Company

Atlantic Refining Company found itself needing more oil production. It first merged with Hondo Oil & Gas Company in 1962. Later, with former Hondo president

Robert O. Anderson Robert Orville Anderson (April 12, 1917 – December 2, 2007) was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist who founded Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). Anderson also supported several cultural organizations, from the Los Angel ...

at the helm, Atlantic Refining continued its mergers and acquisitions. On a fishing trip with Richfield Oil Chairman Charles S. Jones, Robert O. Anderson, by then Chairman of Atlantic, arranged a merger to form the

. The merger that would eventually become ARCO was completed in 1966.

Company histories

Charles S. Jones. '' From the Rio Grande to the Arctic: The Story of the Richfield Oil Corporation''. University of Oklahoma Press, 1972.

References

External links

Oil Company Histories

Funding Universe retrieved 8/4/2011 {{Authority control Defunct oil companies of the United States Automotive fuel retailers Petroleum in California ARCO Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Non-renewable resource companies established in 1905 Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1966 1905 establishments in California 1966 disestablishments in California