they formed a marketing venture with texaco called caltex.s was the pre-opec era, when seven private oil companies, the seven sisters, controlled most of the productions. in 1984, with big players starting to consolidate, socal bought gulf oil in what was the largest takeover ever. the new company took its name from the old socal brand -- chevron. megamergers were the norm. bp snapped up amaco and arco exxon acquired mobil. chevron purchased texaco in 2001 and unocal in 2005. now, it is one of the world's most profitable companies, with earnings of $20 billion year and a market cap of $200 billion. there is a lot that chevron shares with other major producers beyond profits and a standard oil ancestry. it is frequently the target of protests over climate change, environmental damage, and human rights violations in developing countries. [chanting] >> chevron, guilty. erik: there is even an international anti-chevron day. chevron ranks up there among the top spenders on government lobbying, raising concerns about the influence it wields over po