Product brand
UnclaimedHess is a brand.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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History
Hess Corporation traces its origins to 1933, when Leon Hess founded a petroleum business in the United States. The early company operated in fuel distribution and marketing, supplying petroleum products and building a recognizable consumer brand. Its subsequent expansion reflected the broader development of the American oil industry: distribution and retail activities were combined with investments in refining, storage, transportation and exploration. A major transformation occurred when the Hess business combined with Amerada Petroleum in the 1960s. The resulting company, known as Amerada Hess, possessed a larger exploration and production portfolio while retaining significant downstream operations. For decades, the business therefore had characteristics of an integrated oil company, with activities extending from finding and producing hydrocarbons to refining crude oil and selling fuels through branded stations. The corporation later adopted the Hess Corporation name and progressively changed its portfolio. During the 2010s it divested important downstream assets, including refining and retail interests, as management placed greater emphasis on upstream exploration and production. These transactions reduced the importance of the consumer gasoline-station business and made Hess more comparable to a focused independent exploration-and-production company. Hess's upstream strategy has included both unconventional production in the United States and international exploration. Its Bakken position in North Dakota became a core domestic asset during the shale expansion, using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to develop oil-bearing formations in the Williston Basin. The company also maintained international interests, including offshore and onshore projects in several countries. The discovery of substantial petroleum resources offshore Guyana significantly changed Hess's growth narrative. Hess holds an interest in the Stabroek block with international partners and has participated in the appraisal and development of discoveries there. Production from the block has made Guyana an important contributor to the company's long-term portfolio and has increased the strategic significance of offshore project execution, subsea infrastructure and cooperation with the country's institutions. Today, Hess presents itself as a global independent energy company centered on exploration and production. Its operations remain subject to oil and gas price cycles, exploration uncertainty, operating and development costs, host-country regulation, environmental obligations and geopolitical risk. The company also faces the wider structural challenge of balancing hydrocarbon investment with changing expectations concerning greenhouse-gas emissions, energy security and the transition to lower-carbon energy systems. Its modern brand is consequently defined less by retail fuel marketing than by upstream resource development, particularly in the Bakken and Guyana.
- 2015
Guyana discovery creates a major growth platform
[1]Discoveries in the offshore Stabroek block established Guyana as a strategically important area for Hess and its partners.
- 2014
Exit from branded retail operations
[1]Hess sold its retail gasoline-station network, further separating the corporation from its former consumer-facing downstream identity.
- 2013
Downstream portfolio reduction
[1]Hess announced and pursued transactions that reduced its exposure to refining and other downstream activities, reinforcing a strategic focus on exploration and production.
- 1966
Combination with Amerada Petroleum
[1]The Hess business combined with Amerada Petroleum, creating Amerada Hess and expanding its exploration, production and integrated petroleum activities.
- 1933
Leon Hess establishes the business
[1]Leon Hess founded the petroleum business that became the foundation of Hess Corporation.
Products and positioning
An independent upstream energy company emphasizing oil and natural-gas exploration, production growth, large offshore developments and disciplined portfolio management.
Upstream production
Crude oil
Crude oil is Hess's principal produced commodity. The company develops oil resources in assets such as the Bakken in the United States and offshore Guyana, with production sold into regional and international markets through available transportation and marketing arrangements.
Upstream production
Natural gas
Hess produces natural gas associated with its oil and gas fields. Gas may be processed, transported, sold or used in field operations depending on the characteristics of the asset and the infrastructure available in the operating region.
Upstream production
Natural-gas liquids
Natural-gas liquids are hydrocarbons recovered during the processing of produced gas. They form part of the commodity mix generated by Hess's upstream portfolio, although the company is principally identified with crude oil and natural-gas production.
Retail petroleum
Hess-branded fuels
Hess historically marketed gasoline and other petroleum products through a branded retail-station network in the United States. This consumer-facing business was divested, so it is a legacy product line rather than the central offering of the current corporation.
Brand decisions
2015
Expansion of the Guyana growth portfolioStrategyBackground
Offshore discoveries in the Stabroek block demonstrated the potential for a large petroleum province offshore Guyana.
Action taken
Hess continued participating with its partners in appraisal, development and production planning for the block.
Aftermath
Guyana became one of Hess's most strategically important international positions and a central element of its long-term production outlook.
2013
Concentration on exploration and productionStrategyBackground
Hess reviewed its integrated portfolio while the company was managing refining, retail and other downstream activities alongside exploration and production.
Action taken
The company pursued divestitures and other portfolio changes intended to reduce downstream exposure and concentrate investment on upstream assets.
Aftermath
The changes helped define Hess as a more focused independent exploration-and-production company, with greater emphasis on shale and international development opportunities.
Recent events
Reported
Hess announces sale of Bakken acreage interests to Enerplus[2]
Hess announced an agreement to sell its Little Knife and Murphy Creek acreage interests in North Dakota's Bakken to Enerplus for $312 million. The sale was expected to close in May 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
Reported
INEOS agrees to acquire Hess Denmark oil assets[3]
INEOS agreed to purchase Hess Corp's subsidiary Hess Denmark for $150 million, including the remaining 61.5 percent stake in the Syd Arne oilfield and a 4.8 percent stake in the Solsort oilfield. Completion was expected by the third quarter of 2021.
Reported
Hess agrees to sell Denmark subsidiary to Ineos[4]
Hess Corporation announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell Hess Denmark ApS, which holds a 61.5% interest in the South Arne Field, to Ineos E&P AS for $150 million. The sale was expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to approvals and customary closing conditions.
Hess and Minot Park District partner on trails project[5]
Hess Corporation and the Minot Park District announced a partnership to provide access to new trails and outdoor recreation areas; the project was set to break ground in spring.
- Unconfirmed
Hess partners with North Dakota education department on school program[6]
Hess partnered with the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to support interactive teaching and learning, alongside an announced donation of 2020 Hess Ambulance and Rescue trucks and STEM education kits to every elementary school in North Dakota.
Sources6 sources
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