20 Facts You Never Knew about Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil is the largest oil company in the world. The chances are that you have heard of them in one way or another. However, there are many surprising facts about the company that you may not know. Here are twenty fun facts about Exxon Mobil that you may not know.

They Were Second In The Fortune 500 List In 2014

The Fortune 500 list companies in the US by their revenue and in the latest list, Exxon Mobil were second only to Walmart. The revenue of the company in this year was $246.2 billion. The Fortune 500 list does not take into account profits and there are likely to be other companies that have larger profits than them, although not in the energy sector. Whether you are looking at revenue or profits, there is no denying that Exxon Mobil is certainly one of the most successful companies that are operating in the world today.

It Is Investing In Ways To Reduce Carbon Emissions

The company has received a lot of criticism in the past due to its stance on global warming. It has been investigated for misleading clients and investors about how the earth has been affected by global warming and climate change. During the 1980s it was known for denying that climate change existed. However, since then it has changed its stance and has invested a lot of money in helping to fight the effects of climate change.

They Helped Fight Against The Outbreak Of Ebola

When Ebola broke out in Nigeria the company helped fight the outbreak. It provided assistance to the Nigerian government in terms of equipment, vehicles and personal protective equipment. It also sent across medical personnel and a specialist team from the Baylor College Of Medicine to educate Nigerian officials. Exxon Mobil has operations in Nigeria and the help that they have provided can be seen as an effort to improve the lives of the people that live in the areas where they are involved.

Rubbing Alcohol Was Discovered By Researchers At Exxon Mobil

Rubbing alcohol was one of the first by-products of petroleum that was available to buy commercially. This was discovered by researchers at Exxon in 1920 when the company was known as Jersey Standard. The product was used in industrial applications when it was first introduced before becoming more widely available. This was not the last product of this kind that has been discovered by researchers at Exxon Mobil as they were also able to manufacture a type of rubber that is often used in car tires.

Some Aviation Milestones Were Made With Exxon Mobil Products

Fuel from Exxon Mobil was used in a number of significant events in the aviation world. The Wright Brothers used fuel and lubricant from Exxon in their first flight. Fuel was also used in a number of other aviation firsts such as Amelia Earhart’s solo flight across the Atlantic and PanAm’s first commercial trans-Atlantic flight from New York to London. All of these milestones contributed to the way that air travel has become a large part of our daily lives and Exxon Mobil has played a large part in this.

Rex Tillerson Is A Strong Supporter Of Common Core Education Standards

The former CEO of Exxon Mobil is a strong supporter of this government initiative which helps to raise educational standards. When Tillerson was CEO the company paid for an advertisement for the program to be shown during the Masters Golf Tournament. He has said before that he believes the program can really help to prepare students for college and employment. The company is not as strongly associated with this program now that Rex Tillerson has left but the association is still there and probably will continue to be so for many years to come.

Exxon Mobil Can Trace Its History Back To 1870

Exxon and Mobil were both part of the Standard Oil Company which was founded in 1870. Even at this stage, it was the biggest oil company in the world. It got so big that in 1911 it was ordered by the US government to be broken up into several smaller companies. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey became Exxon and The Standard Oil Company of New York went on to become Mobil.

Exxon And Mobil Merged in 1999 In An $80 billion Deal

The company Exxon Mobil was formed in 1999 when the two separate companies merged in a deal that was worth $80 billion. This merger brought stability to both companies and made it easier for them to consolidate their position as the leading producer of oil and gas in the world. There is a good chance that other oil and gas companies were not too happy about this merger going ahead as both companies were so big before the merger took place. However, all details of the deal were thoroughly scrutinized before it went through and it would not have been allowed to happen if it was not in the best interest of consumers.

They Were Involved In The Exxon Valdez Oil Disaster Of 1989

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is considered to be one of the greatest environmental disasters of all time. Over 10 million gallons of oil were spilled into the ocean over a period of several days when the Exxon Valdez ship struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. This caused a lot of devastation to the wildlife in the area as the spill began to wash up on the beaches. The problem was made worse by the fact that the area is not easily accessible by air or by sea and this made the rescue operation much more difficult and did cause delays.

They Made One Of The Largest Discoveries Of Oil And Gas In The Last Decade

This was made in the Gulf Of Mexico and was the first time a deep-water well was used in this location. There is a lot of potential for a lot of oil to be mined from this location but more investigation is needed to find out exactly how much oil there is available. We all know that oil is a finite resource and the chances of finding new oil fields are getting less all the time. This discovery could uncover enough oil to make the existing supply last many years longer than may have been thought possible.

The Headquarters Of The Company Are Located In Irving, Texas

The headquarters are likely to remain in this location for the foreseeable future although a brand new campus is being built nearby. There will be 20 office buildings at the new campus and the site measures approximately 3,000,000 square feet. There are twenty office buildings and three parking garages so there is a lot of potential for plenty of staff to move to this campus. Research is likely to be one of the main purposes of the new campus and there have been laboratories built here for this very purpose. Other facilities include a staff gym and wellness center.

It Is The Largest Of The Worlds Big Oil Companies

Big Oil was a term that was first used in the 1960s to describe the five major oil companies that were operating at this time. It has the largest share of the market of all the other companies as well as the biggest cash flow and the biggest profits. It does not have a lot of competition in terms of other companies that could take this title away from them. Other companies may continue to grow in the future but it is likely that Exxon Mobil will also grow and even if this is at a smaller rate other companies still have a lot of catching up to do.

It Franchised Its Service Stations In The US In 2008

As part of a shake-up of the business, Exxon Mobil franchised out all of its service stations in the US. These stations will still trade under the Exxon Mobil brand but they are all owned independently. The stations still continue to bring profit to the company because they but all of their fuel from Exxon, they are just not responsible for the day to day running of the stations. They would also have made some money from the fee that they charged service station owners to operate under the Exxon Mobil franchise.

Rex Tillerson Is Now Secretary Of State

Former CEO of Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson was named Secretary Of State by Donald Trump. There have been questions raised about whether this would mean the Exxon would receive favorable treatment compared to other oil companies in the United States. There has been no proof of this and he did not hold the roles of CEO and Secretary Of State at the same time. He is one of the only appointments that Trump has made that has survived the President’s first year in office.

It Has Operations In Several Countries Worldwide

Exxon Mobil has 37 refineries in 21 countries all over the world. Although its headquarters are based in the United States it also carries out a lot of its operations in the Middle East. It is one of the only companies in this sector that has operations across six continents. The two continents that have the most countries in which Exxon Mobil operates are Europe and Asia.

Oil Is Still Found On Beaches In Prince William Sound

The Exxon Valdez oil disaster happened almost 30 years ago but there is still oil being found on the beaches. This demonstrates the scale of the problem that occurred at the time and how problems are still ongoing today. There was a big clean-up operation at the time that removed a lot of the oil but it was always known that problems would continue to be experienced years down the line. There are no definite predictions about when the area will be completely free from oil if this is something that happens at all.

There Have Been Several Oil Spills In The US

Exxon Mobil has also been involved in several oil spills in the United States. Wetlands were contaminated in New Jersey and a settlement was reached where Exxon paid compensation to the state for this. One of the biggest spills in the United States occurred in Brooklyn. A report was carried out into the spill by the US Environmental Protection Agency and it was discovered that the pipeline had actually started leaking midway through the 19th Century and this was something that went undetected until the 20th Century.

John Rockefeller Is Credited With Forming The Company

The Standard Oil Company was created by John Rockefeller and others in 1870. It was from this company that both Exxon and Mobil had their roots. Rockefeller is often seen as a great example of the wealth that could be accumulated by businessmen that made the right decisions. He was the richest person in modern history and is considered to be the richest American of all time. When he first became involved in the oil business it was as popular as the Gold Rush of a few years earlier and it certainly played a large part in helping him make his fortune.

The Oil That They Have Already Will Last For At Least 14 Years

It is a common misconception that once gas and oil run out that we will have to shift immediately to renewable energy sources. However, this is not the case as Exxon has a lot of oil and gas in reserve that will last for a number of years. When the time does come that reserves will need to be used, companies such as Exxon/Mobil will have some time to be able to look at other ways of supplying energy. This is something that they are already thinking about and making investments in.

Many Indy 500 Winners Used Exxon Mobil Products

The first of these winners was Ralph De Palma back in 1915. He recorded a time of almost 90mph which was a very impressive speed for the era. De Palma almost won the race three years earlier but he suffered with problems with his car. He was not the last winner to use Exxon Mobil products and there have been many others throughout the years that have used fuel and lubricants from the company.