…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

Exxon Mobil announced that they will give up their controlling stake in Japan’s Tonen General, a major Japanese refinery.

This comes as Japan has 94% of it’s nuclear power plants shut down, and the government planning on increasing power generation through petroleum products.

Officially Exxon Mobil says demand for petroleum is down in Japan, because of fuel efficient vehicles.

Could the real reason be that Japan’s economy is in shambles, with record unemployment levels in 2011, so that even if demand for oil products went up no one is able to pay for them?