The house flag of Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd, London and New York. A white flag with the printed name 'Esso' in red within a blue oval. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and two Inglefield clips is attached.

Esso Petroleum’s origins date from the late 19th century as part of American John D. Rockefeller’s oil giant Standard Oil. Rockefeller, along with Maurice B. Clark and Englishman Samuel Andrews, founded Standard Oil in 1870 in Cleveland, Ohio after investing in an oil refinery in 1863. Following a trust agreement in 1882, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey or Jersey Standard was created, the predecessor to Esso and later the Exxon Corporation. In 1886, a Standard Oil importer in Germany launched the first oceangoing tanker, the ‘Gluckauf’, to travel from Europe to New York (the oil was carried in tanks rather than barrels). 1911 marked the end of the giant consortium of 34 Standard Oil companies after an antitrust suit forced Rockefeller’s conglomerate to split. Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was on its own, as were the 33 other Standard Oil companies, and ended up with two large oil refineries on the East Coast of the United States as well as a large part of the former Standard Oil’s overseas business. In the early 1920’s, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey trademarked its famous ‘Esso’ name, which is the phonetic spelling of Standard Oil’s initials, and in 1933 Esso became its brand name for petrol. Many of the overseas affiliates as well as the principal U.S. affiliates of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey adopted the name Esso. The early 20th century was a period of international growth for the company, expanding operations into South America and the Far East. Like many other oil companies, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey transported oil overseas to Europe during World War II, and lost men and tankers to the cause. One tanker, the workhorse ‘Beaconoil’, crossed the Atlantic 15 times from 1941 to 1944 to deliver fuel to Great Britain. Three flat-bottomed tankers owned by the company were even converted into tank landing ships for American troops in Europe and North Africa. Post-war, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey was operating in 140 different countries. Significant economic growth led to many new technological developments throughout the next few decades, including those in chemical research and shipping. In 1972, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey decided to formally change its American name to Exxon due to a marketing decision made by the company. The name Esso, however, continues to this day to be used by Exxon affiliates outside of the U.S. The 1970’s ushered in another new era for the company: investment in Very Large and Ultra Large Crude Carriers. In 1998, Exxon and the Mobil Oil Company merged, naming itself ExxonMobil, and becoming one of the largest oil companies in the world. (Research, Rebecca Hernandez)