Phillips 66

Phillips Petroleum Co. was founded in 1917 by L.E. Phillips and Frank Phillips in Bartlesville. In 1927 a newly developed high-octane gasoline was named Phillips 66 after a test drive on Route 66, and the first Phillips 66 service station opened in Wichita, Kansas, on November 19, 1927.⁠[1]

Phillips 66 was incorporated in Delaware on November 10, 2011. After the market closed on April 30, 2012, the two companies were separated by ConocoPhillips distributing all 625,272,302 Phillips 66 shares to its stockholders, one Phillips 66 share for every two ConocoPhillips shares.⁠[2]

On April 23, 2012, S&P Indices announced that Phillips 66 would replace SUPERVALU, Inc. in the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry after the close of trading on April 30, in the Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing Sub-Industry of the Energy sector, with the spin-off expected to be completed on or about that date.⁠[3]

On May 1, 2012, Phillips 66 began regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PSX. Headquartered in Houston and led by chairman and chief executive officer Greg C. Garland, it had 15 refineries with a net crude oil capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day.⁠[4]

On April 12, 2022, Phillips 66 named Mark Lashier president and CEO effective July 1, with Greg Garland, who had led the company for 10 years, becoming executive chairman until his retirement in 2024. Lashier had joined as president and chief operating officer in April 2021 after leading the Chevron Phillips Chemical joint venture from 2017 to 2021.⁠[5]

Elliott made a $1 billion investment in Phillips 66 in late 2023. The two sides agreed to work together to appoint two new directors, but only Bob Pease was added in 2024, and there was no formal settlement or cooperation agreement.⁠[6]

The Rodeo facility in the San Francisco Bay Area was fully converted into the Rodeo Renewable Energy Complex. It began producing about 30,000 barrels per day of renewable fuel at the end of the first quarter of 2024 and reached full rates of approximately 50,000 barrels per day (800 million gallons per year) by the second quarter.⁠[7]

In October 2024, Phillips 66 announced that it would permanently cease conventional crude oil processing at its 138,700-barrel-per-day Los Angeles refinery by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, affecting about 600 permanent employees and 300 contract workers. Chairman and CEO Mark Lashier said market dynamics made the refinery’s “long-term sustainability” uncertain.⁠[8]

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company ceased fuel production and began idling facilities at its Los Angeles refinery.⁠[9]

As of the third quarter of 2026, plans to redevelop the site were still under review by state and local agencies.⁠[10]

Phillips 66 conducted due diligence on a potential acquisition of the low-carbon fuel company Propel Fuels. In October 2024 a jury in a California state court found that Phillips 66 had willfully misappropriated Propel Fuels’ trade secrets and awarded $604.9 million, and on July 30, 2025, the court added $195 million in exemplary damages.⁠[11]

Phillips 66 had approached Propel Fuels in 2017, withdrawn in 2018 and began selling its own renewable fuel in 2019. The court called its conduct “reprehensible,” and the total award reached about $800 million. A company spokesperson said, “We received the order and continue to evaluate all our legal options.”⁠[12]

On January 30, 2025, DCP Midstream, LP sold its 25% interest in Gulf Coast Express Pipeline LLC for $853 million. The next day Phillips 66 sold its 49% interest in Coop Mineraloel AG for a sales price of $1.15 billion. On April 1 it acquired the EPIC Y-Grade entities for $2.2 billion, net of cash acquired, and on October 1 it closed the purchase of the remaining 50% of WRB Refining for $1.3 billion.⁠[13]

On December 1, 2025, the company sold 65% of its Germany and Austria retail business, retaining 35%.⁠[14]

On March 4, 2025, Elliott announced a slate of seven director candidates, saying it held a 5.5% economic interest. It proposed portfolio simplification, an operating review and enhanced oversight, and submitted a non-binding proposal for annual director elections.⁠[15]

In a shareholder letter disclosed on April 3, 2025, Elliott, which held a $2.5 billion stake, called for the sale or spin-off of the midstream business, which it valued at more than $40 billion, and said the stock “could nearly double to $200.” By then it had cut its slate to four nominees.⁠[16]

Preliminary results from the May 21, 2025, annual meeting showed company nominees Robert W. Pease and Nigel Hearne and Elliott nominees Sigmund L. Cornelius and Michael A. Heim elected, while company nominees John E. Lowe and Howard Ungerleider were not. Management’s proposal to declassify the board missed the required 80% of outstanding shares, and Elliott’s proposal requiring annual director resignations was voted down.⁠[17]

Phillips 66 had approximately 12,600 employees as of December 31, 2025.⁠[14]

In January 2026, Phillips 66 Limited agreed to acquire the Lindsey Oil Refinery assets and associated infrastructure, including storage, following the liquidation of Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery Limited. Judging a standalone restart not viable in its current form, the company planned to integrate key assets into its Humber Refinery operations.⁠[18]

The company completed the acquisition on April 28, 2026, for a purchase price of $115 million.⁠[10]

Phillips 66 posted 2025 earnings of $4,403 million, or $10.79 per share, compared with $2,117 million in 2024; the 2025 figure included $964 million of pre-tax accelerated depreciation on the Los Angeles refinery. The company returned $3.1 billion to shareholders in 2025. Mark Lashier said, “2025 was a transformative year for Phillips 66.”⁠[19]

In March 2026, in coordination with Elliott Investment Management, Phillips 66 appointed Howard Ungerleider, a former DowDuPont chief financial officer, and Kevin Meyers, a former ConocoPhillips executive, to its board with immediate effect. Elliott partners John Pike and Mike Tomkins said, “While more work must be done,” and Elliott said it would remain engaged with management and the board.⁠[20]