Exxon leaves Australia

According to a wall street journal article, Exxon is in the process of selling its fuel terminal in Queensland to Caltex, which is an Australian oil company. Although this may seem like a small or minor transaction it shows another sign of Exxon Mobil’s exit from Australia(first sign was when it sold many of its filling stations to 7-11 in May of 2009). Although it claims other wise, many believe that Mobil will subsequently sell its Altona oil refinery, which is located in Victoria. Their motives is not yet clear but I am sure it will be in the next few days.

This was a really interesting yet awkward article, I initially thought it was irreverent until of course I read about The Exxon Valdez spill in Australia. The incident consisted of an 11 million gallons crude spill occurred in an area that was highly ecologically sensitive. This left me wondering if Exxons' reputation really recovered and whether their exit from Australia is somehow tied to this event that occurred many years ago. The same may be said for BP years down the line.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101104-700336.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_middleHeadlines