OIL giant ExxonMobil - the parent company of Esso-run Fawley oil refinery - made a record profit of £13.4 billion last year.
The firm's revenues hit a record £158.3 billion as worries over disruption to oil supplies in Iraq, Nigeria and Russia lifted prices. Fawley - the biggest oil refinery in the UK - turns black crude oil from the North Sea and Middle East into petrol, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, lubricating oil and bitumen, as well as plastics and nylon.
ExxonMobil's sea tankers are a familiar sight on Southampton Water as they deliver their "black gold".
The refinery supplies 15 per cent of all oil products used in UK, with 85 per cent of products delivered by pipeline to cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester, as well as Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
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