Marathon Oil flies to Waterloo the week of ConocoPhillips integration milestones

Marathon Oil flew from Quad City International Airport to Waterloo Regional Airport on May 13, a 22-minute hop across eastern Iowa in its Gulfstream V, tail N540M. The short flight follows a series of trips this week that traced a zigzag path through the Midwest, touching down in Green Bay, Saginaw, and Eau Claire before landing in Waterloo.

The same week Marathon Oil lands in Waterloo, ConocoPhillips is nearing the first anniversary of its $17.1 billion acquisition of the company, a deal that closed in the fourth quarter of 2024. As Hart Energy reported in November, ConocoPhillips posted record Lower 48 output in the third quarter of 2024, including record Permian production of 781,000 boe/d and record Eagle Ford volumes of 246,000 boe/d. The combined company also added roughly 2,000 drilling locations, half of them in the Eagle Ford, and expects $500 million in annual cost synergies within a year of closing.

The Waterloo area sits near Marathon Oil’s legacy Bakken operations in North Dakota, a basin where ConocoPhillips averaged 107,000 boe/d in the third quarter of 2024. The trip likely involves operational reviews or asset-level planning as the combined company works to reduce development spending by at least $500 million in 2025, per ConocoPhillips’ guidance. Marathon Oil’s home base remains Houston, but the Midwest itinerary suggests a deliberate tour of the newly integrated portfolio.