Anglo-American Oil Co
Anglo-American Oil Co. Ltd, distributor or motor spirit, of 36 Queen Anne's Gate, London, SW1 (predecessor of Esso)
1888 Anglo-American Oil Co was established as the UK distributing subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of America with an office in London and a depot at Purfleet in Essex. The depot stored paraffin being shipped from New York for use in lamps throughout England.
1888 The company was registered on 27 April. [1]
1889 the company began bulk distribution of refined petroleum products in the UK. Two steam tanker vessels, 'Bayonne' and 'Manhattan' were commissioned to import oils from America.
1890 Anglo-American leased a three acre site at Broad Pill, Avonmouth, for the construction of oil storage tanks
1892 Began to supply gas oil for the manufacture of town gas.
1896 Began marketing Pratt's motor spirit. Later introduced Taxibus, Valor and Royal Daylight Lamp Oil.
1899 introduced the use of sealed two-gallon cans for petrol distribution. Through its commercial policy and by the acquisition of competitors the company achieved a dominant position
1890s Russian oil entered the market which challenged the dominance of Anglo-American. By 1900 about one-third of all petroleum products imported came from Russian sources.
1910 Advert by Anglo-American Oil Co of Pratt's motor spirit[2].
1914 the company was importing 14 million gallons of fuel per year to the UK
1916 Sales of lamp oil were surpassed by those of motor fuel.
1917 Became a member of the Pool Board, set up by the government to control distribution of petroleum products[3].
1920 Anglo-American introduced the first hand-operated petrol pumps with underground storage tanks of 300- to 500-gallon capacity.
1921 Refinery opened at Fawley, Hants[4].
Post-WWI: Acquired G. L. I. Co
1925 Anglo-American acquired control of the British-Mexican Petroleum Co. Ltd, which included 10 storage and bunkering plants, a large fleet of motor lorries and eight 10,000 gallon distribution tankers.
1928 Introduction of a superior grade of petrol: Pratt's Ethyl.
1929 In response to competitive pressures, Anglo-American would supply Pratt's Motor Oils directly to garages[5].
1931 Merger of Redline Motor Spirit Co and Glico Petroleum Company
1933 Anglo-American introduced the first hydrogenated lubricating oil Essolube[6].
1934 Anglo-American Oil Co replaced the brand name Pratt's by Esso, to align with other products such as Essolube, Essolene, etc[7].
All the company's fuel brand names were changed to Esso within a year except that the Pratt's brand name remained in use for lubricant products until the 1950s.
1935 Mr J B R Morton retired as director of Anglo-American Oil Co, British Mexican Petroleum Co, and Redline-Glico - presumably indicating these companies were closely associated by this time[8].
1937 Petrol and oil suppliers. [9]
1938 Anglo-American Oil Co acquired a majority interest in Cleveland, an independent company. Cleveland's products included a benzole blend and an alcohol blend called Discol developed by Distillers Co. The Cleveland name continued in use until 1973, when the Cleveland filling stations were re-branded as Esso.
1938 Began production at the UK's first oil well in Dalgeith, Scotland, which produced 10-20 barrels a day.
1938 the principal suppliers of petrol in the UK, namely Anglo-American Oil Co, National Benzole Co, Shell-Mex and B. P. and Trinidad Leaseholds, joined together (with Government approval) to form the Petroleum Board to consider the problems of petroleum distribution in the event of war.
1939 On 3rd September, the Board became an executive body under Government direction. All products were sold under a Pool description, the selling price of each product being subject to Government control.
The company's tanker fleet was requisitioned by the UK Government to maintain fuel supplies to the UK.
Operation PLUTO supplied petroleum from the Anglo-American refinery at Fawley for the D-Day landings.
1948 The Petroleum Board was dissolved in June.
1949 Major construction work began at Fawley to create the UK's largest refinery.
1951 the new Fawley Refinery opened, processing 124,000 barrels of crude oil per day within a year. A petrochemicals plant was constructed alongside the refinery and began operations in 1958
1951 The company changed its name to Esso Petroleum Co Ltd.