Company History:

Atlantic Richfield Company, better known as ARCO, is the seventh-largest U.S. oil company. A vertically integrated company, ARCO explores for, produces, refines, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Although the company has operations in the North Sea, Indonesia, Russia, Venezuela, Pakistan, China, and Algeria, its largest reserves and most productive operations are in Alaska. In the lower 48 states, it is the largest marketer of gasoline in five western states, with 1,700 gasoline stations. In 1999, the company announced plans to merge with BP Amoco plc, itself created through the 1998 merger of British Petroleum and Amoco. The merger, if accomplished, would make BP Amoco the world's second largest oil and gas company.