Company Overview

Exxon Mobil was created by Exxon's 1999 acquisition of Mobil.
The company is involved in the exploration, production, manufacture, transportation, and sale of crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products, as well as the manufacturing of petrochemicals, packaging films, and specialty chemicals.

The company has significant oil exploration and drilling operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Russia and the Caspian region, Africa, South America, and the Middle East. It has oilfield acreage in excess of one million acres in the United States (including the Gulf of Mexico), Canada, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Chad, Angola, Nigeria, and Indonesia. The company removed its operations from Venezuela in 2007, however, and announced plans to sell its Argentine assets. Still, Exxon Mobil was the most profitable company last year by far, raking in $39.5 billion through oil and gas exploration, production, supply, transportation, and global marketing. Exxon Mobil's 40 refineries in 20 countries have a capacity of producing 6.4 million barrels per day. The company supplies refined products to more than 35,000 service stations in 100 countries, and has proved reserves of 13.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It also provides fuel to 700 airports and more than 200 ports. Exxon Mobil is also a major petrochemical producer. The company posted consecutive records in the United States for annual corporate earnings in 2005 and 2006.

Rex W. Tillerson, chairman and chief executive, named one of Fortune's "Most Powerful People in Business" in 2007, is constantly under fire by environmental and anti-oil company groups, but earned some positive press last year by being the first CEO in Exxon's history to acknowledging global warming as a potential threat. In November 2007, Exxon Mobil announced the start of “New Outlook for Energy: A View to 2030,” a global energy plan driven by economic progress and population growth, with a goal of improving living standards in the developing world. "Ready access to reliable, affordable energy is essential to economic prosperity worldwide," Tillerson said upon the plan’s unveiling. "Our challenge is to meet energy demand with practical, broad-based solutions that promote economic development and energy security while balancing the need to protect our environment." The company develops an “Outlook for Energy” plan every year as part of its business plan and to increase public understanding of the world's energy needs and challenges. It’s the product of an analysis of approximately 100 countries, 15 demand sectors, and 20 fuel types, underpinned by economic and population projections and expectations of significant energy efficiency improvements and technology advancements. The most recent report focuses on energy demand through 2030, and emphasizes the increasing needs of the power generation and transportation sectors. It also examines the potential results of rising demand from various energy sources available, including fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewable energies, and provides insight regarding the challenge of meeting growing energy needs while significantly mitigating global carbon dioxide emissions.

Global pressure for consumers, non profits, and big corporations to explore new ways to rely less on oil now and in the future has made it necessary for Exxon and its competitors to continuously make statements and plans regarding its plans to contribute. Exxon’s reexamination of energy trends led them to determine fossil fuels will continue to provide about 80 percent of energy in 2030, however. Renewable energies start from a small base, therefore even rapid growth in the alternative energy sectors cannot significantly alter the energy mix over the next two decades, according to the report. Oil, gas, and coal will therefore remain indispensable to meeting demand for reliable, affordable energy for the foreseeable future.