I just heard reports that Exxon is "getting out of the gas game". They are going to be selling their 500 oil stations around the world. This transition will take a few years so they won't be going anywhere anytime soon, but what would make an oil company quit now?

A few theories. First, with even less competition the other oil companies can continue rising prices (or keep them high), which would mean collusion. Second, they could be a "smart" company realizing tensions in the middle east and at home, plus peak oil could start hurting oil companies. So perhaps they're assuming the worst in that respect. Or they know their in heaps of legal trouble and are trying to dismantle the company before anything can happen.