Beneath the Surface

Pipelines revolutionized the safe transportation of crude oil in the early days of the oil industry and remain one of the safest and most efficient ways to move crude oil and refined products. Unlike today’s mechanized trenching, welding, and pipe laying, early crews used picks and shovels to dig trenches 20 inches deep, followed by tong gangs who laid and threaded the pipe together and used heavy, long-armed tongs to lower it into place. The Ohio Oil Company built its first pipeline in 1905, a 191-mile line stretching between Martinsville, Ill., and Preble, Ind. In 1951, the company partnered in constructing the Platte Pipeline Company, linking all of its Wyoming production to markets. Marathon Pipe Line Company was formed as a subsidiary in 1960. In 2015, MPLX LP expanded its midstream business, including pipeline and storage assets, by acquiring MarkWest as a wholly owned subsidiary. A state-of-the-art pipeline operations center in Findlay controls the movement of thousands of miles of pipelines extending through the Midwest and beyond.

Findlay, Ohio · United States