The oil company responsible for the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill was Exxon.
On March 24, 1989, the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound while carrying crude oil from the Alyeska pipeline terminal toward California. The vessel was owned by Exxon Shipping Company, an Exxon subsidiary, and the grounding released roughly 11 million U.S. gallons of crude oil into the sea.
The spill contaminated a large area of coastline and harmed marine mammals, seabirds, fish, and other wildlife. It became one of the most consequential environmental disasters in U.S. history and helped drive changes in oil-spill response, tanker operations, and maritime regulation. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 strengthened federal requirements, including provisions encouraging double-hull tankers.
“Exxon” is the fair quiz answer because Exxon Shipping Company owned and operated the tanker at the time. Exxon later merged with Mobil in 1999, creating ExxonMobil; that later corporate name should not replace the company name associated with the 1989 event.