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The Standard Vacuum Oil Company was an American
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
by Standard Oil of New Jersey and Socony-Vacuum Oil (aka Mobil) established in 1931 to make and market products in the Far East.Drucker, Peters F. Management, p. 724. Around World War I, the market in the Far East was too large to leave unattended, but still small. Thus these two American oil companies started Standard Vacuum Oil as a joint venture. The two partners would eventually merge into
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November ...
in 1999.


History

Following the break-up of
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
in 1911, the "Standard Oil Company of New York" (also known for its acronym "Socony") was founded, along with 33 other successor companies. In 1920, the company registered the name "Mobiloil" as a
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...
.
Henry Clay Folger Henry Clay Folger Jr. (June 18, 1857 – June 11, 1930) was president and later chairman of Standard Oil of New York, a collector of Shakespeareana, and founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Early life Henry Clay Folger Jr. was born in N ...
was head of the company until 1923, when he was succeeded by Herbert L. Pratt. Beginning February 29, 1928 on NBC, Socony Oil reached radio listeners with a comedy program, '' Soconyland Sketches'', scripted by William Ford Manley and featuring Arthur Allen and Parker Fennelly as rural
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...
ers. Socony continued to sponsor the show when it moved to CBS in 1934. In 1935, it became the ''Socony Sketchbook,'' with
Christopher Morley Christopher Darlington Morley (May 5, 1890 – March 28, 1957) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.''Online Literature'' Biography Morley was bo ...
and the Johnny Green orchestra. In 1931, Socony merged with Vacuum Oil to form Socony-Vacuum. In 1933, Socony-Vacuum and
Jersey Standard ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...
(which had oil production and refineries in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
) merged their interests in the Far East into a 50–50 joint venture. Standard-Vacuum Oil Co., or "Stanvac," operated in 50 countries, including
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
, China, and the region of
East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...
, before it was dissolved in 1962. In 1937 the Standard Vacuum Oil Company of New York helped establish and fund an exploration team to explore for oil in China. They joined with some wealthy Chinese backers who had an oil concession covering several provinces in north-western China, to make an assessment of recent oil discoveries and to possibly join them in the development of oil resources in the region. This led to the beginning of the petroleum industry in China:
Before 1937, Chinese oil production was measured in quarts and, in its crude condition, was used solely as a lubricant. This first well, developed under the most primitive of conditions and with relatively untrained personnel, began to produce over twenty barrels of oil a day. In time, with equipment brought in from Szechuan and elsewhere and the development of several distillation plants, nine more wells were drilled in the immediate area. A letter from my father to T. E. Mobley of Standard Vacuum in June 1942 . . . reported that the Yu Men wells then had a capacity of about 1,000 barrels of oil and 10,000 gallons of gasoline a day, except in winter when cold weather caused the oil to congeal. This was the first major oil field in China. In 1956 a rail link was built to
Lanchow Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Hi ...
; until then, the oil was transported out by truck. A pipeline was constructed in 1957. The Yu Men refinery was enlarged and modernized, and by the late 1960s it was reported that production from that area was "about two million tons"."Marvin Weller (1984), pp. 393-394.
By the 1950s, things had changed, and the partners were in disagreement, so in 1962 they split Standard Vacuum between them. Within 10 years, the two companies (
Jersey Standard ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...
– Southeast Asia, and
Mobil Oil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
– Southeast Asia) were larger than Standard Vacuum was projected to be.


Bibliography

* Weller, J. Marvin. ''Caravan Across China: An American Geologist Explores the Northwest 1937-1938''. (1984). March Hare Publishing, San Francisco. .


References

{{ExxonMobil Former ExxonMobil subsidiaries Defunct oil companies of the United States American companies established in 1911 Energy companies established in 1911