Abstract
Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) -the present name is Exxon Corporation-has been the biggest company in the world petroleum industry since the late 19th century. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the characteristics of business activities of the Company during World War II.
The main characteristics were as follows :
(1) The Company maintained and shored up the fundamental structure of operations which had been established during the 1920s and 1930s : the crude oil production department played a most important part in dominating other companies; the cartel continued to be effective in crude oil production, especially in the U.S.A.; the range of operations was worldwide in wartime as well as before the war.
(2) The Company manufactured strategic munitions, that is, aviation gasoline (100-octane), butadiene and synthetic toluene. I think this was an important beginning for petroleum chemical operations by the Company. But it was small in scale in contrast to other operations. I estimate that it didn't provide profits of any importance.
(3) The Company made use of government finances, which were essential. But it used them chiefly for operations which had little validity in peacetime. The main operations, for instance, crude oil production, were carried out using the company's own capital.
