A weekend report claimed that Esso's UK petrol stations would be rebranded as Exxon. The claims in the Independent on Sunday were partly based on Esso station owners complaining the company had been slow in refurbishing its forecourts. However, ExxonMobil denied that any shake-up was planned.
The report also said that the Pricewatch scheme would be jettisoned by Christmas. This is the scheme whereby Esso monitors 10,000 competitor prices every day and adjusts its pump prices to ensure it is providing what it says are "usually among the lowest [prices] locally". Pricewatch was introduced in 1996.
A spokesman for ExxonMobil told Brand Republic, "There is no substance whatsoever to the article in the Independent on Sunday. On the contrary, Esso is fully committed to Pricewatch and to the brand itself."
He said that the Esso brand, which has been around since 1934, was "extremely well known and trusted, and will continue to be so".
Esso's parent company, ExxonMobil, was formed in November 1999, when Exxon and Mobil merged. It is the world's biggest publicly traded oil company.
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