QUIZ: ExxonMobil

QUIZ: ExxonMobil

In November 1999, the Exxon and Mobil corporations merged to become ExxonMobil. With a price tag of over $73 billion, it was the largest corporate merger in United States history. With 38 oil refineries in more than 20 countries and a daily capacity of over 6 million barrels, it stands as one of the largest public companies in the world. If any company deserves to be called a "titan," ExxonMobil unmistakably qualifies.

How much do you know about ExxonMobil? Take our quiz and find out.

Posted 7 May 2010

ExxonMobil has its origins in Standard Oil, a company founded by what American philanthropist?

1. Andrew Carnegie
2. John D. Rockefeller
3. Michael Nesmith
4. William Knox D'Arcy

ExxonMobil has its roots in Standard Oil, a company founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. One of the first multinational corporations, it found itself in breach of antitrust laws in 1911. The Supreme Court had the company split up, which ultimately made Rockefeller one of the richest men in the world, because he owned one quarter of all shares of the 34 newly created companies. The irony was further compounded when two of those companies, Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of New York, were renamed "Exxon" and "Mobil" respectively, and re-merged 88 years after being broken up by the Supreme Court.

SOURCE: Our History | ExxonMobil.com

In 2005, ExxonMobil reported earnings larger than the gross domestic product of what former OPEC nation?

1. Gabon
2. Indonesia
3. Malaysia
4. Norway

2005 was a particularly good year for ExxonMobil. They reported $371 billion in revenue, an amount greater than the gross domestic product of Indonesia, which came in at a lackluster $245 billion. The Southeast Asian country, which has a population of 242 million people, is the fourth most populated nation on earth. It was a member of OPEC until its status changed from a net exporter of oil to a net importer, prompting its 2008 withdrawal from the powerful cartel.

SOURCE: At ExxonMobil, A Record Profit But No Fanfare | New York Times

In 2007 and 2008, what corporation took ExxonMobil's place at the top of the Fortune 500 list, only to see it taken back in 2009?

1. Bank Of America
2. Chevron
3. General Electric
4. Wal-Mart

2008 saw Wal-Mart take the top spot on the Fortune 500 list, an honor that it had taken from ExxonMobil in 2007. The two companies had spent most of the decade tangling with one another for first place, and ExxonMobil was the only corporation to take the title away from the department store chain in an otherwise unbroken stretch of seven years. But Wal-Mart had taken the top spot despite sluggish consumer spending, or perhaps because of it. In a possible omen of the coming economic crisis, consumer spending had been shifting to discount retailers like Wal-Mart as unemployment rose and real estate values sank.

SOURCE: Wal-Mart Remains Atop Fortune 500 | Los Angeles Times

How did ExxonMobil assist in the clean-up effort after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident?

1. They donated a geodesic dome to block one of the leaks
2. They hired environmental activists to clean oil-soaked wildlife
3. They offered a drilling rig for use as a staging base
4. They offered to perform a controlled burn of spilled oil

After the catastrophic April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, ExxonMobil took an "all hands on deck" approach and lent a hand to the massive undertaking of containing the oil and cleaning it up. In addition to providing equipment and personnel to help BP regain control of the situation, ExxonMobil also donated the services of a drilling rig, to be used as a staging area for cleanup workers. Additionally, they offered the use of an underwater vehicle, a support vessel and two supply vessels.

SOURCE: ExxonMobil Provides Aid In Gulf | Dallas Business Journal

In 2009, ExxonMobil announced that it was researching the development of new biofuel from what source?

1. Algae
2. Corn syrup
3. Grease
4. Sugarcane

In July 2009, ExxonMobil announced that it had entered into a partnership with the biotechnology company Synthetic Genomics Inc., to develop biofuel from photosynthetic algae. Dr. Emil Jacobs, ExxonMobil's vice president of research and development, said that cultivating the next generation of energy sources is vital to keeping pace with a changing marketplace. "Meeting the world's growing energy demands will require a multitude of technologies and energy sources," he said. "We believe that biofuel produced by algae could be a meaningful part of the solution in the future if our efforts result in an economically viable, low net carbon emission transportation fuel."

SOURCE: ExxonMobil To Launch Biofuels Program | Business Wire

Your score:

• Titan
  You are a powerful deity who rules during a Golden Age.
  
  Special in-depth coverage of ExxonMobil here.
• Titanium
  You need to be alloyed with iron to produce any lightweight alloys..
  
  Special in-depth coverage of ExxonMobil here.
• Titanic
  You may be big, but watch out for icebergs..
  
  Special in-depth coverage of ExxonMobil here.