Imperial Oil Limited

Imperial Oil Limited

Imperial Oil Limited, with head offices in Toronto, is an energy company incorporated in 1880 as the Imperial Oil Co. An American company, Standard Oil, bought a majority interest in 1898, and the present name was adopted in 1959. In 1978 Imperial Oil formed Esso Resources Canada Ltd to handle its resource operations. Active in all phases of the PETROLEUM INDUSTRY, Imperial Oil is the largest marketer and refiner of petroleum products, the largest producer of crude oil in Canada and a major producer of natural gas. It also manufactures and sells chemicals, fertilizers and building materials and has mining exploration and development interests. Through Syncrude Canada Ltd, in which it holds a 25% interest, Imperial Oil is also participating in a plant producing synthetic crude oil from the Athabasca oil sands.

In 1995 it had sales or operating revenues of $9.28 billion, assets of $12.0 billion and 7800 employees. In 1987 Imperial bought Sulpetro, a Calgary-based natural gas producer, and in 1990 it completed its merger with Texaco Canada. The company is 79% foreign owned, with Exxon Corp of New York holding 70% of the shares.