Technology and innovation - Exxon Co. A case study

Lots of good info from unpublished internal documents at Exxon. Excelent research

I. EXXON CORPORATE HISTORY

· 1870 - Standard Oil Company formed

John D. Rockefeller first entered the oil business in 1863. Seven years later, he and others formed the first Standard Oil Company in Ohio. The 'Standard' name was chosen to indicate high, uniform quality. The company was the largest refiner and marketer of kerosene in Cleveland.

· 1882 - Standard Oil Trust formed

Early in 1882, the Standard Oil Trust was formed under the leadership of John D. Rockefeller. The Trust organized the interests of 40 separate petroleum companies into one orderly system.

· August 5, 1882 - Standard Oil Company of New Jersey incorporated

The company's principal facility was the Bayonne refinery, which could process 2,000 barrels of oil per day. Initial capitalization was $3 million.

· 1888 - Anglo-American Oil Company organized

1890 - Interest acquired in Deutsch-Amerikanische Petroleum - Gesellschaft, Germany

Anglo-American was Standard's first international venture, formed to market products, principally kerosene, in England.

VIEW NORTH ACROSS PORT VALDEZ TO CITY OF VALDEZ. S...

A view above the Standard Oil Company building, Co...

Standard Oil Company truck at the Oklahoma History...

Two years later a 40 percent interest was acquired in DAPG, a new German company. Marketing expansion proceeded rapidly to many other countries around the world.

· 1892 - Standard Oil Trust dissolved

Standard Oil Interests formed

The new group consisted of twenty holding/operating companies, including Jersey Standard. In 1899, Jersey became the holding company for all, with Rockefeller as President. The organization had by then expanded into an industrial consortium of more than 70 companies.

· 1898 - Imperial interest acquired

1904 - First foreign oil production

When Imperial needed financing to expand in Canada, Anglo-American purchased a majority interest. Six years later Jersey organized its first affiliate for foreign oil production, in Rumania.

· 1906 - U.S. Government files anti-trust suit 1911 - U.S. Court orders break-up...