WOC was established in 1956 and its first oil discovery was made in 1959, in Dahra field. In 1962, WOC began pumping oil to a terminal operated by Conoco, Amerada Hess and Marathon. In 1968, Shell joined the consortium, purchasing shares from Amerada Hess. In 1973, after the Al-Fatah Revolution, company shares were split between these companies (49%) and NOC (51%). In 1974, Shell declined to sign this agreement and NOC bought their shares, making the split 59-41%. This resulted in the formation of Oasis Oil Company. In 1986, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan issued an Executive Order to all U.S. oil companies to withdraw from Libya.