TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As part of its continued efforts to provide much-needed fuel to disaster-stricken areas in Japan, ExxonMobil Japan Group has opened the first temporary service station in the city of Rikuzentakata. All conventional service stations in this area were destroyed by the March 11 tsunami.

With the support of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), ExxonMobil designed and constructed this temporary service station as a contribution to relief efforts. The innovative design includes the use of two International Organization for Standardization (ISO) tanks in place of conventional storage tanks. ISO containers have the capacity to hold 20,000 liters - enough to fill 500 passenger vehicles with one load. This provides a safe alternative to fueling directly from drums or barrels and can serve as an interim solution until conventional service stations are rebuilt.

“ExxonMobil’s technological capability moved this from an idea to reality in only a month,” said Philippe Ducom, lead country manager of the ExxonMobil Japan Group. “The extraordinarily rapid completion of this project would not have been possible without the cooperation of the city of Rikuzentakata and other authorities. We hope this temporary station will enable people to get the gas they need and help the city’s recovery efforts.”

After completion, ExxonMobil handed over the facility to the city of Rikuzentakata for local oil retailers to operate on a commercial basis. ExxonMobil is ready to help provide a similar facility upon request from METI or local authorities to other towns in the tsunami-impacted areas.

With the installation of this interim station, ExxonMobil is continuing its efforts to ensure a stable supply of essential fuel to the region. Since the disaster struck, ExxonMobil has:

• Donated one million liters of fuel (about 264,000 gallons) to town officials in the hardest hit areas through a fuel voucher program.
• Donated almost 600 drums of fuel products to the Japanese government, military, medical providers and emergency groups, and more than 1000 gallons of helicopter fuel to Hope International.
• Donated US $1 million to the Japanese Red Cross Society to provide disaster relief assistance. In addition, the company has implemented a worldwide match of employee, retiree, dealer and distributor contributions, up to an additional US $2 million.

About ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is the largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products, and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com.

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