
Doug is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst who spent more than 20 years as a derivatives market maker and asset manager before “reincarnating” as a financial media professional a decade ago.
Before joining Britannica, Doug spent nearly six years managing content marketing projects for a dozen clients, including The Ticker Tape, TD Ameritrade’s market news and financial education site for retail investors. He has been a CAIA charter holder since 2006, and also held a Series 3 license during his years as a derivatives specialist.
Doug previously served as Regional Director for the Chicago region of PRMIA, the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association, and he also served as editor of Intelligent Risk, PRMIA’s quarterly member newsletter. He holds a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology, Stuart School of Business.
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
ConocoPhillips is a U.S. oil and gas company created in 2002 through the merger of Phillips Petroleum and Conoco. From 2002 until 2012 ConocoPhillips was a fully integrated petroleum company, involved in all stages of the industry from exploration and drilling through production at the wellhead to refining and marketing of final products.
In 2012 the âupstreamâ and âdownstreamâ portions of the company were split apart:
Both companies are headquartered in Houston, Texas.
In May 2024 ConocoPhillips announced a deal to acquire rival oil producer Marathon Oil in a deal valued at $22.5 billion. The acquisition closed in November of that year.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Doug Ashburn