Standard Oil of Ohio is today the American arm of which company?

Standard Oil of Ohio is today the American arm of which company?

• A. BP
• B. ExxonMobil
• C. Chevron
• D. Shell

Answer: (A)

The question hinges on the lineage of Standard Oil’s many spin-offs. Standard Oil of Ohio, known as Sohio, was one of the 34 companies created when Standard Oil was broken up in 1911. Sohio continued as a distinct American company for decades, but its assets were acquired by British Petroleum in 1987, and the U.S. business became BP America. After the 1998 BP Amoco merger, the American operations remained under the BP umbrella. So, the modern parent company is BP. For context, other Standard Oil offspring became different names today: Standard Oil of New Jersey evolved into Exxon, Standard Oil of New York became Mobil (and later ExxonMobil), and Standard Oil of California became Chevron.—All distinct lines from Sohio.

The question hinges on the lineage of Standard Oil’s many spin-offs. Standard Oil of Ohio, known as Sohio, was one of the 34 companies created when Standard Oil was broken up in 1911. Sohio continued as a distinct American company for decades, but its assets were acquired by British Petroleum in 1987, and the U.S. business became BP America. After the 1998 BP Amoco merger, the American operations remained under the BP umbrella. So, the modern parent company is BP.

For context, other Standard Oil offspring became different names today: Standard Oil of New Jersey evolved into Exxon, Standard Oil of New York became Mobil (and later ExxonMobil), and Standard Oil of California became Chevron.—All distinct lines from Sohio.