Clue 1 · The Basics
U.S. energy company · mega-cap · listed on the NYSE · headquartered in Texas.
Clue 2 · The Numbers
Revenue of roughly $400 billion a year makes it one of the largest companies on Earth, yet its fortunes swing wildly with oil prices — a $10 move per barrel can mean billions gained or lost.
Clue 3 · The History
Its roots trace back to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, broken up by the U.S. government in 1911 — and two of those pieces eventually found each other again in a landmark 1999 merger.
Clue 4 · The Secret
Beyond pumping crude, it quietly runs one of the world's largest chemical and refining businesses, meaning it profits whether oil goes up or down the supply chain.
Clue 5 · The Lore
The 1989 Alaskan tanker disaster — one of the most infamous environmental accidents in American history — cost the company billions and permanently attached its name to ecological catastrophe.
Clue 6 · The Giveaway
You've pumped their gas under a red, white, and blue sign featuring interlocking double X letters — and yes, that oil spill in Prince William Sound still haunts them.