Marathon Oil lands in Madison as Iran war fuels refining profits

Marathon Oil flew from Grand Rapids to Madison on June 9, arriving at Dane County Regional Truax Field after a short, low-altitude hop in its Gulfstream V (N540M). The flight, just 1 hour 18 minutes at 14,350 feet, follows a week of similar short legs across the Midwest — a pattern that looks less like long-haul executive travel and more like regional shuttling between company facilities.

The same week the Iran war has pushed U.S. Gulf Coast refining margins to multiyear highs, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since early March and summer demand approaching, per [Energy News Beat](https://energynewsbeat.co/crude-oil/the-iran-closure-on-the-strait-of-hormuz-could-last-to-labor-day-what-it-means-for-global-markets-oil-prices-and-the-physical-vs-paper-disconnect/). Marathon Petroleum — the refining giant, not the E&P company that now belongs to ConocoPhillips — told analysts on May 5 it is shipping diesel, jet fuel and other products on routes it had never used before, taking advantage of Jones Act waivers and global supply gaps, as reported by [TT News](https://www.ttnews.com/articles/marathon-earnings-q1-2026).

Since the ConocoPhillips merger closed in November 2024, Marathon Oil's Gulfstream has been flying out of Houston to Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, and Washington — the standard circuit of an independent producer. Today's itinerary, bouncing across Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, suggests a company whose fleet is still working the old patch even as its corporate parent benefits from a wartime fuel boom.