Exxon Mobil to quit retail service-station business

Rising oil prices and increasing competition from grocery stores and hypermarts serving fuel have pushed service-station profit levels so low that returns are almost non-existent. The situation has now caused Irving oil giant Exxon Mobil to leave the retail fuel business in the U.S., announcing Thursday that it will sell the 2,220 service stations it still owns across the country.

The Exxon Mobil branded stations won’t disappear overnight, however, as close to 10,000 stations are owned independently by families or companies outside of Exxon. Furthermore, the oil giant aims to sell its stations to companies that distribute Exxon fuel, reports Dallas News.

High fuel prices have also seen motorists shy away from spending extra money in store, also cutting into profits.

A spokesperson for Exxon confirmed that reduced margins and significant competitive growth from hypermarkets and grocer markets had led to the decision but that the company is committed to delivering more than 14 billion gallons of fuel to the U.S. market this year.