ConocoPhillips Petroleum Museums
Museums in Bartlesville and Ponca City have preserved Oklahoma exploration and production history. One still does.
As part of Oklahoma statehood centennial celebrations in 2007, ConocoPhillips opened two petroleum museums dedicated to preserving the state’s exploration and production history. In April 2025, the spun-off downstream company Phillips 66 closed the museum in Bartlesville, citing a decline in visitors after an earlier decision to require appointment-only visits.
Often staffed with volunteers like many other Oklahoma oil museums, the Conoco Museum in Ponca City and Phillips Petroleum Company museum in Bartlesville have featured interactive exhibits, oilfield artifacts, and community events along with K-12 education programs about the industry’s energy future.
Created in 2002 through the merger of Conoco and the Phillips Petroleum, ConocoPhillips reportedly spent $5 million on each museum for the 2007 centennial openings. In 2012, Phillips 66 became an independent company when ConocoPhillips spun off its refining, midstream and marketing businesses. Phillips 66 markets across the United States under the Phillips, Conoco and Unocal brands.
The permanent closure of the Bartlesville Phillips Petroleum Company Museum (with some artifacts moving to the Frank Phillip Woolaroc Ranch) has left an uncertain future for the statehood centennial’s Conoco Museum, now requiring appointments to visit.
