Emissions of fossil fuels provided by Exxon and others make the Earth uninhabitable for humans. This is unfortunate, because the power generated during the burning of fossil fuels has become the basis of virtually all human activity. Transport, agriculture, industry, the built environment, heating, cooling, social media, bitcoin mining – even war – have relied solely on fossil fuels for the past 150 years. Wind and solar have recently become part of the energy mix, but they still make up only a small part of the world’s energy needs.
ExxonMobil Perspective
Last week, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods interviewed David Faber. CNBC. In a wide-ranging conversation (you can see everything for yourself in the video below), he touched on electric cars, future demand for gasoline and diesel, and where Woods sees itself in 2040. His answers were enlightening.
Woods said he expects all passenger cars sold in the world to be electric in 2040, but a decline in demand for motor fuels will only mean the company will return to where it was in 2013, and the business was doing very well at the time. and therefore will be a very nice soldier, thank you very much.
According to him, there are many interesting new opportunities on the horizon for the company. Hydrocarbons can literally be converted into millions. Oil and gas are simply a collection of hydrocarbons that some intelligent scientist is begging to turn into new products.
Some of them can be used to create components for future solar panels and wind turbines or even battery-powered cars and trucks. Others could turn into billions of disposable bottles, straws, cutlery, and shopping bags. There is no end to what Exxon can use in the oil and gas market, so Woods says there is no need to worry about the company’s future.
He proved that Exxon invented butyl rubber, which could be a leader in the innovation of products that society needs. He also forgot to mention that the invention took place in 1937.
Exxon does not produce cars or power plants; Woods said it simply creates fuel that strengthens them. Then he became bored, familiar to many who remembered Donald Trump’s speeches. The sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, so there will always be a need for fossil fuels to turn on the lights and lift billions of the world’s poor out of poverty.
Exxon and Hydrogen Thing
A few years ago, everyone was talking about the wind and the sun. Today, the conversation has expanded to include carbon retention, hydrogen, biofuels and ammonia. Woods says that if we allow the free market to use its magic, technology will prove to solve our carbon problems.
Not surprisingly, he is in the “all of the above” camp, which claims that we need energy from many sources. From there, he easily comes to the conclusion that “we should not encourage the government to use wind and solar energy unless the fossil fuels get their share.” He even had the courage to look at the camera and declare that Exxon did not and never wanted a favorable treatment from the government. Uh, yes.
He was quick to point out that the United States has abundant methane, a natural gas, that can be “corrected” for pure hydrogen. However, he very bluntly denied that the reform process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It did not address the large-scale emissions documented for methane production, leaks at pumping stations and pipelines, and the environmental damage from fracking to release all compressed gas into the earth’s crust.
Europe is lucky to have enough hydropower that it can use to produce “green” hydrogen, but the United States is more limited in this regard, and therefore the only alternative is to increase the production of “blue” hydrogen. Sorry, but what can you do?
Exxon Legacy
David Faber put Woods directly at the company’s legacy, especially at a time when the company’s climate change denial campaign was led by Lee Raymond. Woods insisted on the company always followed scientifically on. Thirty years ago, science was still evolving.
According to Woods, there is no doubt that carbon dioxide emitted by human activity today controls a warming world, but we did not always know it. We are doing this now, so it is pointless to look back and criticize what they might have done. Instead, it is time to look to the future, when the free market offers the most profitable climate solutions. Exxon expects to play an important role in providing fuel for industry and heavy cargo, switching to biofuel production and turning carbon capture into a viable business.
Biofuel
Biofuel is an attractive expression that encompasses many alternatives, many of which have questionable climate benefits. Plants contain hydrocarbons. Thanks to the magic of science, some of them can be redesigned to produce so-called biofuels. However, many plants are a major source of food for both humans and animals. One person’s gallon of ethanol can be someone else’s daily food. Woods’s very casual claim that biofuels are a response to gasoline is shallow at best and insincere at worst.
Carbon Retention
During the interview, Woods hits the drum hard to catch carbon, and sees it as a great business opportunity just waiting to be used. Exxon scientists are looking for ways to make technology a.) Possible and b.) Profitable. The viewer can almost see the light in his eyes when he thinks of all the money that will come from the extraction of the raw material for which his company is responsible for the atmosphere. They took the money to create it, and now they will take the money again to delete it. Talk about your capitalist dream!
The problem is that it doesn’t work and shows very little sign that it won’t do anything in the future. And profitable? Not in this life, not in Darren and probably not in the next life. Faber even noted that the world will have to emit 4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide by 2040 to prevent global warming from shifting to hyper-drivers. Exxon’s target for that year is 100 million tons. Talk about your bad nest in the snow.
Carbon Price
Woods says his company fully supports the price of carbon to improve the playing field. Let the best, most profitable technology win. The question is, how much should it be and to what carbon? You can bet that your lowest dollar Woods doesn’t offer to pay for the carbon dioxide it produces when its products burn. Let someone else carry this burden on his shoulders.
The price should not be so high as to limit demand, which will reduce profits. In other words, it is actually a strategy that gives the appearance of doing something while doing very little.
Meet the demand
Darren Woods was surprised when Faber suggested that most of the oil and gas reserves remain in place to prevent global warming. Were it not for the demand for oil and gas, Exxon and its industry counterparts would not be in a hurry around the world trying to find more.
Yes, something needs to be done to prevent the Earth from becoming uninhabitable for humans (cockroaches and rats will always find a way to survive), but that shouldn’t mean freezing traditional energy companies. We need an “all of the above” approach. Exxon simply wants to do its part to serve humanity.
If you have time, check out some of the comments to the Woods interview on YouTube. They are very entertaining and give some insight into how the online community feels about Exxon in general and Darren Woods in particular.
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