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History of Hess Corporation

  • 1933

    Leon Hess, age 19, forms Hess Incorporated; purchases a 1926 second-hand 615-gallon oil delivery truck and begins residential delivery, seven days a week, near his home in Asbury Park, N.J.
    Hess Truck 1933 Image
  • 1937

    Recognizing that large power companies are switching from coal to oil, Leon Hess purchases five additional trucks and expands his business to include post-refinery residual fuel oil.
    Hess Trucks 1937
  • 1938

    First oil terminal site purchased in Perth Amboy, N.J. with facilities to unload barges. Facilities for unloading tankers added three years later.
    First Hess Oil Terminal in Perth Amboy, NJ, 1938
  • 1947

    Hess expands its distribution and storage capacities, applying lessons learned by Mr. Hess during his U.S. Army experience during World War II as a petroleum supply officer, and his knowledge of the industry.
    Hess Distribution Center 1947
  • 1948

    Hess purchases first ship, a 10,000-ton tanker.
    Hess Tanker Ship 1948
  • 1951

    Oil was first discovered in North Dakota in 1951 by Amerada Petroleum, which later became part of Hess Corporation. Since then Hess has become a top operator in the state.

    Monument_cropped_0032
  • 1957

    Hess builds its refinery in Port Reading, N.J., adding a Fluid Catalytic Cracking unit in 1961.
    Hess Oil Refinery in Port Reading, NJ, 1957
  • 1960

    The first Hess-operated gas station opens in New Jersey.
    First Hess Gas Station in New Jersey 1960
  • 1962

    Hess merges with Cletrac Corporation, a Cleveland, Ohio equipment manufacturer, becomes Hess Oil & Chemical Corporation and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
    Hess New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) 1962
  • 1964

    The first Hess Toy Truck – a toy tanker that can be filled with water and empties through its delivery hose – is offered exclusively at Hess gas stations. Hess begins an annual tradition of offering Hess truck replicas to provide a fun, high quality and affordable toy for families during the holiday season.

    Toy trucks are now sold online at HessToyTruck.com
    Hess Toy Truck 1964
  • 1967

    Hess Oil & Chemical completes construction of a large refinery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1998, the company forms a partnership with Venezuela’s national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, and renames the facility HOVENSA. In 2012 HOVENSA announces it is closing the refinery.

    Hess Oil Refinery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands 1967
  • 1969

    Hess Oil & Chemical Corporation merges with Amerada Petroleum Corporation to become Amerada Hess. By May the following year the company drills its first successful wildcat well in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska’s North Slope.
    Hess Oil Well in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska 1969
  • 1972

    Amerada Hess continues to expand its global Exploration and Production profile, adding significant positions in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea as well as onshore in the United States (including the Jay Field Processing Plant, Santa Rosa County, Florida, shown).

    Hess Jay Field Processing Plant, Santa Rosa County, Florida 1972
  • 1981

    With the acquisition of nearly 110,000 acres of land near Williston, the company begins building its position in North Dakota, an asset that will continue to grow and add value for decades to follow.

    Hess North Dakota Oil Field 1981
  • 1995

    Leon Hess retires after six decades of leadership. John B. Hess is named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Amerada Hess.

    Leon Hess 1995
  • 1996

    Exploration and Production continue to be the engine of corporate growth. The company completes development of five high rate of return oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea and Asia Pacific.
    Hess Oil Plant 1996
  • 2001

    Amerada Hess purchases Triton Energy Limited, and with it a world-class growth opportunity in Equatorial Guinea and a long-term, long reserve-to-production life asset in the Malaysia/Thailand joint development area.
    Hess Triton Energy Limited 2001
  • 2006

    The company changes its name from “Amerada Hess Corporation” to “Hess Corporation.”
    Hess Corporation 2006
  • 2010

    Hess establishes a leading position in shale oil and gas exploration and production with two acquisitions that boost the company's acreage in North Dakota's Bakken formation.

    Hess North Dakota Bakken 2010
  • 2011

    Hess builds a strategic acreage position in Ohio's Utica Shale through acquisition and joint venture agreements.

    Hess Utica Shale Ohio 2011
  • 2014

    Transformation Complete
    Hess completes multi-year transformation to an exploration and production company. The company exits all downstream operations and generates approximately $13 billion from assets sales beginning in 2013.

    Gas Plant Expansion
    Hess completes a $1.5 billion expansion of the Tioga Gas Plant, more than doubling its operational capacity. The project significantly increases production, improves efficiency and reduces the amount of natural gas flared at Hess' operations.
    Hess Tioga Gas Plant 2014
  • 2016

    Hess announces positive results from the Liza-2 exploration well in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, confirming a world-class oil discovery and positioning Hess for a decade plus of resource and production growth. 
    Hess Liza-2 Exploration in Offshore Guyana 2016
  • 2017

    North Malay Basin
    The North Malay Basin full field development, offshore Malaysia, achieves first production.

    Hess Midstream Partners
    Hess Midstream Partners LP completes an upsized initial public offering. Hess Midstream is a fee-based, growth-oriented traditional master limited partnership formed in 2015 to own, operate, develop and acquire a diverse set of midstream assets to provide services to Hess and third-party customers.
    Hess North Malay Basin Malaysia Offshore Oil Rig 2017
  • 2019

    Startup of production from the Liza Field, offshore Guyana, is achieved less than five years after the first discovery of hydrocarbons and well ahead of the industry average for deepwater developments. Liza Phase 1 is the first of multiple offshore development projects planned in the Stabroek Block.
    Liza_1st_crop
  • 2022

    Hess Corporation publishes its 25th annual Sustainability Report and announces one of the largest private sector forest preservation agreements in the world -- to purchase high quality, independently verified carbon credits for a minimum of $750 million between 2022 and 2032 directly from the government of Guyana.
    Hess-history-2022