Notorious Rex

Last blog post I got pretty environmental on you guys. Therefore, to be balanced, this post I am going to look at the career path of notorious CEO Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobile.




Who Is Rex Tillerson?

Mr. Tillerson was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. He attended the University of Texas and studied civil engineering. He first joined the Exxon Company in 1975 as a production engineer. He continued to advance through the corporation until 1987 when he was named business development manager in the Natural Gas Department. The responsibilities of this position included developing long term plans for the Alaskan and Canadian Beaufort Sea gas. In 1992 he became the production advsior to Exxon Corporatio n and then became the coordinator of affiliate gas sales in Exxon. Three years later he became president, and in 2006 he was named CEO upon retirement.

Since becomming CEO of Exxon Mobile in 2006 Rex Tillerson has tried to make Exxon's image more environmentally friendly. At the same time however, he argues that peak oil is a myth propagated by environmental hysteria. He also believes that Exxon, despite phenomenal profits, has been investing more than necessary in the RD needed for refineries. He predicts that oil will continue to grow at 3% per year, whereas renewable energies will probably grow at around 10% per year. However, he believes that renewable energy is not growing fast enough to provide energy for the transportation and energy needs of the world. Tillerson tends to have a global outlook in general - and sees the oil market moving east.

YouTube Movie of Tillerson Denying Peak Oil:




Interesting Quotes by Rex Tillerson:

"The petroleum industry is a long-term business. The new supply of petroleum the world utilizes today is available because of decisions and risks undertaken by our industry 5, 10, and even 15 years ago. Similarly, the decisions we make today related to exploration, development, production, transportation, refining, and distribution will likely affect results for many, many years – even decades into the future."

This stands out to me because I have often heard it said that the oil business is indicative of the short-term bias which influences too much of our governmental decision making. However, when you think about it, it completely makes sense that the petroleum business is incredibly long term - after all, the amount of capital and foresight that it takes to discover and exploit oil and gas reserves all over the world necessitates the long-term view. Therefore, perhaps it is unfair when environmentalists characterize oil corporations as short-sighted opportunists. They only appear that way because they are good at planning ahead.

"Some people might assume that, as an oil company, we may have simply extrapolated "business as usual" and ignored the potential for efficiency in energy alternatives. But that is not the case. In fact, our outlook includes ongoing gains in energy efficiency, offsetting growth in demand about 1 percent per year based upon such things as aggressive assumptions for the introduction of advanced vehicles, particularly hybrids here in the United States.

We have assumed solar and wind, with continued mandates and subsidies, will grow at a 10 percent annual rate – or more than five times as fast as hydrocarbon energy supplies. Nevertheless, the world’s growing economies and transportation needs will result in continued demand for petroleum – a plentiful, reliable, affordable, and easily transportable form of energy."

So there it is, the story of one oil CEO guru from his own lips. One things for sure, Rex Tillerson is pretty darn smooth.

Time for some delicious cooking.

Best,
Emily





Sources:

The World Energy Source. "Rex W. Tillerson." Published 2007 by Loomis Publishing Services, Inc.


Tillerson, R. "The Role of Energy in the 21st Centrury." World Energy. 2007. V(8):2.