Photo: emilyd10, Creative Commons, Flickr
Exxon Mobil (XOM) is announcing that it is selling more than 2,000 of its gas stations. This move is part of Exxon’s movement in a new direction to become leaner, and more efficient, focusing more on energy production than on the retail side of things. However, Exxon still plans to keep its brand name out there. The Wall Street Journal reports on plans for Exxon’s gas stations:

That won’t mean the end of the Exxon Mobil name on gas stations. The company expects to sell most of the stations to distributors that already own and operate about 10,000 other stations that carry Exxon Mobil signs and are supplied on a wholesale basis by Exxon Mobil.

The gasoline retail business operates on tight margins, and Exxon wants to be able to focus on other aspects of its business. Besides, Exxon is hardly the first to start easing out of the gas retail business. BP (BP) and Shell (RDS-B) have both sold gas retail stations. Indeed, most of the money made is through extraction and refinement of oil.

And with XOM focusing more on the things that make money, and trimming the things that don’t, the company is likely to continue to rake in record profits.

Disclosure: I do not own Big Oil stocks.

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