How ExxonMobil Is Banking On Biofuels

Summary

ExxonMobil, a global energy giant with a rich history, faces scrutiny for its past actions on climate change. The company, born from Standard Oil, is now under pressure to transition to a low-carbon future. It has set ambitious goals for net-zero emissions by 2050 and is investing in carbon capture and biofuels. However, critics question the sincerity of these efforts, dubbing them as 'greenwashing.' The company's future hinges on balancing its traditional oil business with emerging sustainable technologies.

Takeaways

• 🌏 ExxonMobil is a global organization with a significant presence on six continents and a rich history tied to the American oil industry.
• 🏭 The company's roots trace back to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, which was once the largest oil refiner and a monopolistic force in the industry.
• 🚗 The advent of the automobile industry created a massive market for gasoline, which transformed the business landscape for oil companies like Exxon.
• 📉 Exxon faced a significant crisis with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which led to increased scrutiny and a push for better environmental management.
• 🔄 Under Lee R. Raymond's leadership, Exxon underwent a major merger with Mobil in 1998, forming ExxonMobil and becoming the world's largest oil company.
• 🌡️ ExxonMobil's past has been under scrutiny, especially regarding its stance on climate change and whether it misled the public about the impact of fossil fuels.
• 🌱 The company has been investing in low carbon solutions such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and biofuels to reduce its carbon footprint.
• 🛑 Shareholder pressure has led to changes in ExxonMobil's board and a renewed focus on addressing climate change and transitioning to a lower-carbon future.
• 📉 The company has set an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero emissions from its global operations by 2050, aligning with global climate goals.
• 💵 ExxonMobil emphasizes the need for a price on carbon to make carbon capture and other low-carbon technologies economically viable.
• 🔮 The future of ExxonMobil is uncertain as it navigates the energy transition, balancing the need for immediate profits with long-term sustainability.

Q & A

How many employees does ExxonMobil have worldwide?

ExxonMobil has 63,000 employees worldwide.

Who is considered to have written a seminal book on ExxonMobil?

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll is known for writing a seminal book on ExxonMobil.

What was the significance of John D. Rockefeller's founding of Standard Oil?

John D. Rockefeller's founding of Standard Oil in the late 19th century led to the creation of one of the biggest fortunes in American history and controlled 90% of domestic oil refining by the 1880s.

What was the primary use of oil at the time of Standard Oil's early dominance?

At the time of Standard Oil's early dominance, kerosene used for lighting was the primary moneymaker, with gasoline being a virtually useless byproduct that was often thrown away.

How did the advent of the automobile change the oil industry?

The arrival of the automobile created a market for gasoline, which had previously been a useless byproduct of oil refining.

What was the outcome of the Supreme Court's ruling on Standard Oil?

The Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil was a monopoly and ordered its breakup into 34 separate companies.

What was the name of the fuel blend created by Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1926?

In 1926, Standard Oil of New Jersey created a new blend of fuel called Esso.

What environmental disaster is synonymous with Exxon?

The Exxon Valdez oil spill is synonymous with Exxon and is considered the worst oil spill in North American history.

Who was appointed as chairman and CEO of Exxon after the Exxon Valdez crisis?

Lee R. Raymond, a chemical engineer by training, was appointed chairman and CEO of Exxon after the Exxon Valdez crisis in 1993.

What significant merger did Lee R. Raymond engineer in 1998?

In 1998, Lee R. Raymond engineered a merger with Mobil, creating ExxonMobil, the largest oil company in the world at the time.

What is the current controversy surrounding ExxonMobil's past actions on climate change?

ExxonMobil's past actions on climate change have come under scrutiny, with accusations that the company misled the public about the impact of fossil fuels on global warming, particularly during Lee Raymond's tenure as CEO.

What is the significance of the shareholder pressure on ExxonMobil in 2021?

In 2021, shareholder pressure led to the election of three new board members who were not the company's preferred candidates, indicating a shift towards more sustainable and environmentally conscious business practices.

What is ExxonMobil's ambition regarding its global operations by 2050?

ExxonMobil has announced an ambition to make its global operations net zero by 2050, capturing or removing as much greenhouse gases as it emits.

What is the Houston Hub project and how does it fit into ExxonMobil's strategy?

The Houston Hub is a proposed carbon capture and sequestration network around ExxonMobil's Baytown complex, aimed at capturing CO2 emissions and sequestering them deep underground, which is part of the company's strategy to reduce its carbon footprint.

What is the estimated cost of building CO2 pipelines for the Houston Hub project?

The estimated cost of building CO2 pipelines for the Houston Hub project is around $300,000 per inch mile, which can reach millions to tens of millions of dollars per mile.

What is ExxonMobil's stance on the need for a price on carbon?

ExxonMobil states that a price on carbon of at least $100 a tonne is needed to make projects like the Houston Hub economically viable.

What is the potential of biofuels in ExxonMobil's energy transition strategy?

Biofuels are seen as a potential carbon-neutral fuel in ExxonMobil's energy transition strategy, with the company researching and developing materials that could be turned into biofuels.

How does ExxonMobil respond to critics who claim their efforts are nothing more than greenwashing?

ExxonMobil acknowledges the need for a transition but emphasizes the delicate balance required to not leave people behind as the global economy is still largely powered by fossil fuels.

Outlines

00:00

🏭 Origins and Evolution of ExxonMobil

The script details ExxonMobil's history as an American-born global giant with 63,000 employees across six continents. It highlights the company's significant role in the oil industry, dating back to the first commercial oil well in 1859 and John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, which dominated oil refining by the 1880s. The script discusses the initial undervaluation of gasoline, the rise of the automobile, and the subsequent need for gasoline. It also covers the Supreme Court's antitrust lawsuit against Standard Oil, leading to its breakup into 34 companies, including Exxon. The narrative continues with Exxon's environmental challenges, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and the leadership of Lee R. Raymond, who emphasized financial and operational discipline. The script also touches on ExxonMobil's merger with Mobil in 1998, creating the world's largest oil company, and concludes with current scrutiny over the company's historical actions on climate change.

05:01

🌱 ExxonMobil's Transition and Shareholder Pressure

This section delves into ExxonMobil's response to climate change and the pressure from politicians and shareholders. It discusses the company's efforts to address past criticisms and its commitment to reducing emissions. The script mentions Darren Woods, the current CEO, who is focusing on advancing technologies to tackle climate change while maintaining energy affordability. The narrative includes the influence of activist investors like D.E. Shaw and Engine No. One, who have pushed for change within ExxonMobil, leading to new board members and a more transparent approach. The company's ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 is highlighted, along with its Houston Hub carbon capture and sequestration project. The script also addresses the skepticism from environmentalists about the company's commitment to sustainable practices.

10:04

🔬 Carbon Capture and Biofuels Initiatives

The script outlines ExxonMobil's initiatives in carbon capture and sequestration, exemplified by the Houston Hub project, which aims to capture CO2 emissions from industrial facilities. It discusses the technical and financial challenges of building the necessary infrastructure, such as pipelines capable of withstanding CO2's corrosive nature. The section also covers ExxonMobil's research into biofuels, which have the potential to be carbon-neutral. The company is exploring various organic materials to create sustainable aviation fuels and is investing in understanding the biological processes at a DNA level to optimize fuel production. The script emphasizes the need for policy support and market incentives to scale up these technologies effectively.

15:06

🛢️ Balancing Profits and Future Energy Needs

In this part of the script, ExxonMobil grapples with the challenge of balancing immediate shareholder demands for stock buybacks against long-term investments in low-carbon technologies. The company acknowledges the need for a transition to a lower-carbon economy but is cautious about moving too quickly, which could leave some people behind. The script highlights ExxonMobil's historical adaptability, from producing kerosene to gasoline and chemicals, and suggests that the company is considering a similar pivot towards a carbon economy. It concludes with the debate within ExxonMobil about whether to lead the transition or wait for market conditions to dictate the change, amidst the backdrop of global reliance on fossil fuels.

Keywords

💡ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil is a multinational oil and gas corporation, one of the largest in the world. In the video, it is highlighted as a company with a vast global presence and a significant role in the oil industry. The company's history is deeply intertwined with the development of the American oil industry and the global economy.

💡John D. Rockefeller

John D. Rockefeller was an American business magnate and philanthropist, best known for his role in the oil industry. He founded Standard Oil, which was later broken up into several companies, one of which became ExxonMobil. Rockefeller's business tactics and the growth of Standard Oil are mentioned in the script to illustrate the monopolistic practices in the oil industry.

💡Standard Oil

Standard Oil was an American oil producing, refining, transportation, and marketing company founded by John D. Rockefeller. The company was broken up in 1911 by the Supreme Court for being a monopoly. The script discusses how Standard Oil's legacy lives on in companies like ExxonMobil.

💡Climate Change

Climate change is a significant theme in the video, referring to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. It is linked to the burning of fossil fuels, which are ExxonMobil's core products. The script discusses how ExxonMobil's past and present actions have come under scrutiny due to their impact on climate change.

💡Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)

CCS is a process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources and storing them underground to mitigate climate change. The script mentions ExxonMobil's Houston Hub project, which is a proposed CCS network, as part of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

💡Biofuels

Biofuels are fuels derived from biological materials such as plants or algae. They are considered carbon-neutral because they recycle carbon from the atmosphere. The video discusses ExxonMobil's research into biofuels as a potential part of their energy transition strategy.

💡Proxy Fight

A proxy fight is a dispute between a company's management and its shareholders over the control of the company. In the script, it is mentioned that ExxonMobil faced a proxy fight where shareholders elected new board members who pushed for a more aggressive energy transition.

💡Net Zero

Net zero refers to a state where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted is balanced by an equivalent amount being removed from the atmosphere. ExxonMobil announced an ambition to make its global operations net zero by 2050, which is a significant commitment in the context of climate change.

💡Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the practice of making an unjustified or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company. The script addresses accusations that ExxonMobil's efforts towards sustainability might be perceived as greenwashing.

💡Energy Transition

The energy transition refers to the global shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The video discusses ExxonMobil's role in this transition, including challenges and the need for policy and market incentives to facilitate the change.

💡Carbon Pricing

Carbon pricing is a mechanism that assigns a cost to carbon emissions, usually through a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system. The script mentions that ExxonMobil sees a price on carbon as a crucial factor in making carbon capture projects economically viable.

Highlights

ExxonMobil is a global organization with 63,000 employees across six continents.

The company's history is deeply intertwined with the history of oil itself.

John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil, one of the largest fortunes in American history.

Standard Oil controlled 90% of domestic oil refining by the 1880s.

The rise of the automobile created a market for gasoline, which was previously a waste product.

Standard Oil was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911 for being a monopoly.

Exxon Valdez oil spill was the worst in North American history, prompting a reevaluation of safety and environmental practices.

Lee R. Raymond was appointed CEO in 1993 to improve financial and operational discipline.

Exxon merged with Mobil in 1998 to create the largest oil company in the world.

ExxonMobil faced scrutiny over its history and actions related to climate change.

Exxon scientists acknowledged the impact of fossil fuels on climate change as early as the 1970s.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna led hearings to uncover what big oil companies knew about climate change.

Exxon's past statements on climate change were inconsistent with its internal scientific findings.

ExxonMobil has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions from its global operations by 2050.

The company is developing the Houston Hub, a carbon capture and sequestration network.

ExxonMobil is testing materials for biofuels, aiming for carbon-neutral fuel options.

The energy transition is a complex process for ExxonMobil, balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability.

Critics argue that ExxonMobil's efforts towards sustainability may be greenwashing.

Transcripts

ExxonMobil is a vast global organization of 63,000

employees on six continents.

But it was made in America.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Steve Coll, who

wrote a seminal book on the company, says its story is

the story of oil.

They attract a lot of attention. They did right

from the beginning, in the first part of the 20th

century. And I think for many Americans, they are big

oil.

The first commercial oil well was drilled in 1859.

A decade later, a 30 year old John D.

Rockefeller founded Standard Oil and in so doing created

one of the biggest fortunes in American history.

Well, John D. Rockefeller was a perfectionist.

He was ruthless, absolutely determined to succeed in

business.

By the 1880s, Rockefeller's company controlled 90% of

domestic oil refining.

Back then, kerosene used for lighting, was the

moneymaker. Gasoline was a byproduct.

Virtually useless, it was thrown away.

If you go back to the very history of Standard Oil, it

was not obvious that oil and petroleum was going to

be the thing that powered the world economy.

The rest of the economy built up around it as they

innovated.

With the arrival of the automobile,

A car comes off the end of the line every 10 seconds.

A market for gasoline finally came of age.

The company grew so powerful that the Supreme

Court ruled it was a monopoly.

The court ordered its breakup. Standard Oil became

34 separate companies.

In 1926, the biggest descendant, Standard Oil of

New Jersey, created a new blend of fuel called Esso.

The company expanded dramatically over the next

decades in the U.S.

and overseas, and in 1972 it changed its name, ushering

in the modern era of Exxon.

Then a crisis with a name that has become synonymous

with environmental disaster: the Exxon Valdez.

The worst oil spill in North American history.

A tanker at the Exxon Valdez had just loaded more than a

million barrels of Alaskan crude.

The spill killed wildlife in greater numbers than

previously reported.

After the Valdez, there was a sense that Exxon needed to

get its house in order.

The man assigned to that task was Lee R.

Raymond. A chemical engineer by training, he was

appointed chairman and CEO in 1993.

He was a man of enormous self confidence, and he was

a believer in financial and operating discipline.

Above all else, there is a lot of reflection on

discipline and safety.

And in 1998, Raymond engineered a more than $75

billion merger with Mobil, creating the largest oil

company in the world, and reuniting the two largest

descendants of the Standard Oil breakup.

The new company will be known as ExxonMobil and will

retain both strong brands.

At the close of the 20th century, ExxonMobil was one

of the most valuable companies in the world.

But today, its history and actions in the discussion

around climate change have come under scrutiny.

Did any of your executives at any point mislead the

American public?

Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California,

chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on the

Environment. He believes that big oil companies like

Exxon can't move forward with an energy transition

until they've come to terms with the past.

And do you feel as though Exxon in particular holds a

outsized role, or is it across the board oil

companies?

The record shows that Exxon was the worst in terms of

the most egregious.

Now, again, not the current management.

Just to be clear.

In the fall of 2021, Khanna helped launch high profile

hearings.

We're going through all the documents because they've

produced a tremendous amount of document.

To uncover what the big oil companies knew about climate

change and when.

He cited a document written by Exxon scientists back in

the 1970s.

Exxon had a report that said, quote, There is

general scientific agreement that most likely,

the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing

the global climate change is through carbon dioxide

release from the burning of fossil fuels.

But Khanna said that in 2002, Lee Raymond, Exxon's

then CEO, was still casting doubt on those conclusions.

He said, quote, he does not believe, quote, that the

science establishes the linkage between fossil fuels

and warming. I assume you would acknowledge that Mr.

Raymond's statement was a mistake and the company

regrets it, correct?

Mr. Raymond's statement was consistent with the science.

I don't even want to argue that, Mr.

Woods. I don't even want to argue that.

Here's what disappointed me.

Darren Woods did not distance himself from a

single comment that past Exxon CEO's or executives

made.

But why does it matter?

Why does it matter? It was 20 years ago.

Because it matters what the culture of that company is.

Is the company going to still hunker down and do

everything possible to make maximum profits without

really tackling climate or have they really turned a

corner? Have they really gotten some religion?

Do you think you pay a price?

Not throwing your predecessor overboard, for

lack of a better term, or at least just somehow

meeting the objections that some of these legislators

have in terms of taking you as a really trusted partner.

I would say judge us on the work that we're doing and

what we're doing going forward. I mean, we've got

to focus on how we're going to address this problem.

We're doing work today and advancing very large scale

projects on those needed technologies.

We're engaged with governments all around the

world to reduce emissions while at the same time

providing reliable and affordable energy, which is

so critical to people's standards of living all

around the world.

Darren Woods has been facing pressure not just from

politicians but from Exxon's own shareholders.

First D.E.

Shaw, a giant hedge fund, got two new directors

installed on the board in March of 2021.

This after activists started to get involved.

D.E. Shaw, which we've been reporting on for some time,

took a sizable position in the company.

During that same spring, a little known activist pushed

the company to embrace the energy transition and

mounted an audacious campaign to get four new

members on Exxon's 12 member board.

This is a very significant moment.

This will be written about. This is historically

important. Unclear at this hour whether Exxon has

prevailed.

And it's time to let shareholders have their v

oice. It appears that they have elected two.

Shareholders have elected two of the dissident's

candidates for that board.

And from what I understand, a third director nominated

by Engine One will actually join the board.

This is either the most a ppalling intrusion into a

company's business imaginable on one side or

it's about time something happened.

In the end, the shareholders voted in three out of the

four candidates.

Exxon is nothing if not realistic, and their

experience of this proxy fight is surely gotten their

attention. They've got three people on their board

who they didn't want to be there.

And so they've got to learn to, you know, navigate in a

different kind of conversation.

Change is good almost always.

And the change here happened faster than

otherwise would have.

I think everybody's benefiting from a room

that's got more new thinkers.

Jeff Ubben, a leading activist investor, is the

founder of Inclusive Capital Partners, which

focuses on sustainable investing.

He was one of the two members who joined the Exxon

board due to the pressure from D.E.

Shaw.

It's a good board.

You've got an environmental activist in the room.

He kind of anchors the conversation over here, and

it makes other people like me look reasonable.

You know? No, but that's what a board should have.

You know, I'm curious about what you've learned about

the oil and gas industry that may be different from

your beliefs before you joined the board.

The only way we're going to fix a problem is to go into

the problem. You can't run away from the problem.

We can determine our future.

We can carve out our future because of this climate

imperative.

Since the changes in its boardroom, Exxon has made a

number of announcements.

One of the biggest, its ambition to make its global

operations net zero by 2050.

It was the last oil major to make the pledge of

capturing or removing as much greenhouse gases as it

emitted.

The fact that Exxon is modeling net zero and is

comfortable with its role in a zero carbon economy in

2050. That's one year change.

That's in one year we've done that.

That's fascinating, right?

So I think it's roughly a year ago or so, you you lost

that proxy fight. What, if anything, have you changed

in terms of whether it's your transparency, whether

it's the way you communicate with

shareholders as a result of that event?

I think you've touched on two important ones.

For all these things, all these challenges, our job is

to learn from those and make sure that we're

responding to, why did we get the votes against us?

So you will see today we've become much more transparent

so that people can get an idea of how we expect to

manage this business as we move into this uncertain

future. And, the Houston Hub is a great example of

that.

Joe, nice to see you.

Nice to see you. Joe Blommaert was the first head

of a new business at Exxon called Low Carbon Solutions.

Here we go. Let's do it.

Shortly before announcing his retirement Blommaert

showed us where the company is developing one of its

biggest projects.

Located around its massive Baytown complex, the Houston

Hub is a proposed CCS, or carbon capture and

sequestration network, and will include other

industrial facilities in the area.

When you talk about carbon capture and sequestration

and the project that you're beginning, how does

this fit in?

Most of the facilities here, David, emit carbon dioxide

. And what carbon capture and sequestration does, it

captures that carbon dioxide prior to releasing

it to the air and then it's transported and deep

underground sequester that in a safe and secure manner.

This is actually an excellent location to do

that. And then in close proximity of the U.S.

Gulf Coast, for instance, where there is a unique

amount of storage of CO2 possible.

ExxonMobil is moving forward as fast as I've seen it

move, which is pretty fast.

Steve Davis is a geologist and researcher affiliated

with Stanford University.

He was a 22 year veteran of ExxonMobil who worked on CCS

projects and left the company in 2020.

He says the Houston Hub will be expensive for

several reasons, including the need for new

infrastructure.

Oil and gasoline pipelines are very low pressure

systems relative to what we have to transport CO2.

So the existing pipeline system we have, to the

extent that we might hope to repurpose it to transport

CO2, is not going to work.

Probably not.

CO2, if it gets any exposure to water, will react with

water and create carbonic acid, which is corrosive to

steel. For a spec-built CO2 pipeline, you're going to be

looking at something around $300,000 per inch mile.

So that means for every inch of diameter that mile

will cost $300,000 to build.

All of a sudden you're way up in the millions to $10

million per mile for that pipeline.

You're talking multibillion dollar project.

Huge.

The cost of these pipelines comes up a lot, Joe.

If we were to really do this nationally or

internationally, it will be very expensive.

This is not new.

CO2 is actually being used already for quite some time.

The industry understands how to transport CO2 through

a pipeline. The corrosion aspects can be managed.

The use case for carbon capture is we just need to

get that scale going.

Once we get the scale going, great things will

happen. We'll go down this cost curve.

EDF's Mark Brownstein agrees that large scale CCS

projects are needed to lower carbon emissions, but

he doesn't see real progress on the Houston Hub.

It is in fact visionary.

So good for them.

But what's missing underneath that are any of

the business plans, any of the engineering plans.

I mean, this is a company that does its homework.

I would say that's a mischaracterization. We have

done our homework. And frankly, we've announced a

project in Baytown, which is a starter project for

that hub. And so we've got a project in works,

hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, reducing

emissions at our site, a viable project that's been

advanced. So it's real.

It's happening. There's more work to be done, no

doubt about that. But, you know, the journey of 1000

mile starts with the first step and we're taking

several first steps.

And one of the crucial pieces Exxon says it needs

is a price on carbon of at least $100 a tonne.

That price may influence another project that Exxon

touts.

At its research and development facility in

central New Jersey, the company is testing materials

that could be made into something called biofuels.

Vijay Swarup is the vice president of R&D.

Welcome, David, to our biology lab.

We do a variety of things here.

We want to turn this and we want to put this in your

tank. We want to turn this into jet fuel.

Biologist Kelsey McNeely is looking into different

organic materials from algae to wood chips.

So what did this come from originally?

This was-

This was wood.

It was? Okay, right. So this , it started looking like

that. And I like to think about it basically as

liquefied wood.

You basically just cook that sawdust under the right

conditions and it liquefies and then we can upgrade that

into a drop in fuel.

We want to understand down to the DNA level what is

actually going on in the biology. So in this lab, we

have the ability to sequence DNA.

You can tailor the biology to be able to get the

products, the feeds you want to make the fuels that

society wants with a lower carbon intensity.

A lower carbon intensity, because biofuel is

potentially a carbon neutral fuel.

So we actually account for the carbon dioxide that

plants pull out of the air, and the energy that you have

to put into farming those plants, and then the energy

to process, and finally the emissions associated with

using it as a fuel.

And carbon neutral basically just means that that

accounting comes out at zero or close to zero.

They've talked for years, for example, about advanced

biofuels. And it's a great talking point.

And they're right.

We need sustainable aviation fuels if we're

going to continue to be able to fly for pleasure or

for business. But how many years can you talk about

your intention to develop them before after a while it

begins to wear thin?

This is not a one company activity or endeavor.

It requires policy.

It requires market incentives. As the policy

gets put in place, as the market incentives develop,

then you'll see us move into that space.

You're in a position right now, given where oil prices

are, that you're generating massive amounts of cash

flow, cash flows that could be deployed in any number of

ways. But your shareholders may just want you to buy

back stock. How do you respond to sort of their

desires when you think about what you need to do in

terms of positioning the company for the future?

We've got a very long term horizon.

We've been around for 100, 135 years.

Our expectation is to be around for the next 135

years. When we first started out, we were

basically making kerosene to replace whale oil for

lighting. The electric light came on, we moved into

gasoline, we moved into chemicals.

Our company has been evolving since its inception

and we will continue to do that.

If ExxonMobil is trying to change direction, the

question remains, how fast can it turn?

Biofuels and carbon capture are so close.

That Houston Hub, for instance, probably needs

$100 or $210 a ton of carbon.

Just like they made long term investments in

hydrocarbons and they theoretically made a bet on

hydrocarbon pricing, is Exxon willing to make a bet

on carbon pricing?

So do we want to lead the transition and do we want to

speculate, for lack of a better word, on carbon and

the carbon economy, or do we want to wait for it to

happen? That is the conversation we have four,

five, six times a year.

To those critics of ExxonMobil who say that

their efforts are nothing more than greenwashing, what

do you say?

Could be.

You do think it could be?

The core business of ExxonMobil is to produce and

refine hydrocarbons.

And in order to move away from that would

require a very large shift in just about the entire

culture of the company.

Could happen, but it's going to be generational.

If you move too fast, you leave a whole lot of the

country and people in the world behind.

And so there's a very delicate balance.

A delicate balance, especially when you have a

global economy still powered largely by fossil

fuels.

And when gas prices skyrocket across the nation,

prompting politicians to ask big oil to pump more,

the energy transition ends up taking a backseat to the

need to find more oil.