USA: ExxonMobil Exits Petrol Retail Market
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Monday, 16 June 2008 |
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ExxonMobil is following in the steps of BP and Shell in North America with regards to the ownership of petrol retail networks.
Exxon Mobil Corp said it is getting
out of the petrol retail business in the United States as sky-high crude
oil prices squeeze margins. Those branded service stations may be the most public aspect of Exxon's
business, but they account for a small part of the company's profits.
Out of the roughly 12,000 Exxon Mobil branded stations in the United
States, Exxon owns
about 2,220.
Exxon plans to sell those service stations over the coming years. They
include about 820 stations that it also operates.The company will
maintain the Exxon and Mobil brands, spokeswoman Prem Nair of
Exxon said.
Exxon made more than $40 billion in 2007, most of which came from
its oil and gas production around the world. "I think the
decision came that it's more of a headache than its worth," said
Oppenheimer & Co analyst Fadel Gheit. Although the company does not release profit margin figures for its
retail arm, Gheit estimated the stations' margin was between 10 percent
and 15 percent, about one-third its margin on crude oil production.
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