Mobil Oil Corporation

Mobil Oil’s Connection to Asbestos

Mobil Oil Corporation, now known as ExxonMobil, is the world’s largest publicly traded international oil and gas company. The company sources, produces and sells crude oil, natural gas and petroleum products.

The company is a target for asbestos litigation because it used asbestos on equipment that processed its oil, gas and petroleum. Asbestos provided heat resistance and prevented fires on the heavy-duty equipment, which was important in the processing of flammable materials such as oil and gas.

Some Mobil Oil employees were exposed to asbestos-containing products while working for the company and later developed diseases because of the exposure. As a result, thousands of employees have filed lawsuits against the company.

Mobil Oil merged with the Exxon Corporation in 1999. ExxonMobil was the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization for much of the 1990s and 2000s, before losing the title to Apple, the consumer products maker.

Today, the ExxonMobil Corporation operates 38 oil refineries in 21 countries constituting a combined daily refining capacity of 6.3 million barrels, according to corporate records.

Exposed to Asbestos at Mobil Oil Corporation?

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Asbestos Litigation Involving Mobile Oil

Unlike other companies that faced thousands of asbestos lawsuits, ExxonMobil has not filed for bankruptcy. It continues to fight asbestos claims through the court system.

Mobil Oil’s Asbestos Products & Employees at Risk

Throughout the 20th century, asbestos was considered the best insulation for containers that housed highly flammable materials such as oil or gasoline. Oil refineries used asbestos products to insulate heat-producing equipment. They also used asbestos-containing protective clothing to resist heat and fire.

For example, Mobil Oil used a line of asbestos-containing cement, caulk and adhesives called Dum Dum that it purchased from Martin Marietta (a predecessor to Lockheed Martin) in 1963. These materials were used to seal and insulate high-heat equipment.

Certain occupations held by Mobil Oil employees put them at risk of asbestos exposure.

Exposure to asbestos-contaminated equipment on a regular basis could lead to the development of lung cancer or mesothelioma. Employees who worked these jobs are encouraged to receive medical screenings for asbestos-related disease.

In 2015, a study in the British Medical Journal reported rates of asbestos-related deaths in Belgium between 2001 and 2009. According to the findings, former chemical industry workers are almost three times more likely to die of mesothelioma than the general population.