Exxon to Sell US Gas Stations

Exxon Mobil is getting out of the retail gasoline business, following other major oil companies who've been selling their low-margin stations to gasoline distributors. The world's biggest publicly traded oil company plans to sell to distributors its remaining 820 company-owned stations and another 1,400 outlets operated by dealers. The transition will take years.

Of the 12,000 Exxon Mobil stations in the US, about 75% are already owned by distributors, who buy the company's products and pay to use the name. Industry officials say the major oil companies own fewer than 5% of US gas stations.