Exxon CEO Darren Woods Says Attacking Oil & Gas Will Only Slow The Push To Net Zero Emissions

Much to the chagrin of the Biden administration and its woke sycophants, we’re sure, Exxon CEO Darren Woods is once again making sense.

The head of the oil supermajor argued this week that turning big oil companies into “villains” would inhibit the world’s path to net zero emissions and would trap millions of people in the developing world in poverty, according to a new Bloomberg report.

At the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco this week, Woods said: “The solutions to climate change have been too focused on reducing supply. That’s a recipe, for human hardship and a poorer world.”

Instead he urged governments to “harness the industry’s capabilities for change”, Bloomberg reported. He suggested providing government funding for technologies that reduce emissions, such as carbon capture, until they become viable through market dynamics.

Woods said that attacking oil and gas would keep net zero emissions an “aspiration” instead of a reality. 

“Oil and gas companies reliably provide affordable products essential to modern life. Making them into villains is easy. But it does nothing – absolutely nothing – to accomplish the goal of reducing emissions,” Woods added. 

He then spoke about his personal commitment to the environment: “I’m a father and grandfather – who cares about his family, their quality of life, and their futures. Which means I care very much about our environment and the health of our planet.”

“I’m fully aware that there are many who question ExxonMobil’s commitment because of what was said over 30 years ago – or what they think Exxon knew back then,”  he added. “Frankly, I’m more interested in what ExxonMobil knows today. Climate change is real. Human activity plays a major role.”

“We’ve got the tools, the skills, the size, and the intellectual and financial resources, to bend the curve on emissions. That’s what ExxonMobil knows,” he concluded. 

Exxon will not cut back on oil and gas production or make substantial investments in renewable energy, unlike its European counterparts, Woods said. Instead the company plans to focus on investing in low-emission technologies that enhance fossil fuels, including carbon capture and hydrogen. 

As we noted weeks ago, Exxon is expanding in a big way. It reached an agreement to acquire the US shale drilling company Pioneer Natural Resources Co., with the transaction valued at approximately $62 billion.

The supermajor’s largest takeover in more than two decades will make it a dominant producer of shale oil – as well as being extraordinary transformational for the US energy sector that might unleash another shale revolution.  

“Pioneer is a clear leader in the Permian with a unique asset base and people with deep industry knowledge. The combined capabilities of our two companies will provide long-term value creation well in excess of what either company is capable of doing on a standalone basis,” Woods said at the time.