Gasoline. Few products are more vital to our lives. Today, millions of people around the world will fill their tanks with gasoline, pumping more than 800 million gallons (3 billion liters).

Gasoline moves us to work, to school, to the beach, to the doctor. It brings mobility to the poorest countries and supports economic growth and prosperity around the world.

Since we rely on it every day, it's no surprise that interest in gasoline is so high and the public debate so lively. Are supplies reliable? How is it priced and why do prices fluctuate? How does it affect the environment? Are the companies that produce and sell it doing a good job?

We hope this booklet will provide a better understanding of how the gasoline you purchase at your Exxon, Esso or Mobil station was brought to you.

• Today's gasoline is made with care and precision to give you safety and performance, while protecting our environment
• It's made from crude oil that may have come from a well drilled miles underground 200 miles offshore
• It's manufactured in modern, state-of-the-art refineries that transform molecules and blend components to exacting specifications
• Getting it where you need it requires a global logistics network of ocean- going tankers, barges, pipelines and trucks working 24 hours per day
• And a friendly, convenient retail station designed to give you quality, value and service
• The advanced technology used in every step "from well to wheel" rivals the space program
• Gasoline comes to you through an open, global marketplace, where thousands of companies make, move, buy and sell this vital product, competing for your business and loyalty
• Our shareholders invest billions of dollars annually to make it all happen — and earn a return only if we do our job well

The 100,000 people of ExxonMobil working in nearly 200 countries and territories are proud of what we do for our customers.

We hope that more information about this essential product will be of interest to you and contribute to the discussion of the public policy issues affecting its composition, availability and price.