The story
Between 1933 and 1962 Esso was owned by Stanvac or Standard Oil. The trademark for Esso was first registered in 1937. After 1962 Esso's Australian operations were known as Esso Standard Oil (Australia) Pty Ltd.
On 25 September 1998, the Esso Longford gas explosion killed two and injured eight others. As Victoria's largest supplier of natural gas the aftermath was considerable with hundreds of thousands of homes affected. Many Victorians experienced 20 days without gas hot-water or heating. A Royal Commission was held finding Esso responsible for the accident. Esso was also found guilty by jury verdict of 11 offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and fined $2 million.
In November 1999, Esso and Mobil finalised its merger to form ExxonMobil globally. The Australian affiliates of both companies also merged to form ExxonMobil Australia. The merged company inherited the Adelaide and Altona refineries. The Adelaide refinery closed in 2003 and was demolished in 2009.
In November 2012 there was a crude oil spill at Longford.
From Wikipedia’s article on ExxonMobil Australia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4