US energy giant ExxonMobil plans to more than double its earnings potential by 2025 while continuing research into lower-carbon technologies to address the risks of climate change.
Meeting the world’s growing energy needs will require trillions of dollars in new investment across industry, even under a scenario to limit the global increase in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius, chairman and CEO Darren Woods told shareholders during the company’s annual meeting.
Lower-cost-of-supply investments in U.S. tight oil, deepwater and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are key drivers behind ExxonMobil’s plans .
The company said it would increase tight oil production in the U.S. Permian Basin five-fold, and start up 25 projects worldwide, which will add volumes of more than 1 million oil-equivalent barrels per day.
In 2017, ExxonMobil added 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels to its resource base in locations including the Permian, Guyana, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and Brazil.
ExxonMobil is upgrading its product slate through strategic investments at refineries in Baytown and Beaumont in Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Singapore, and Fawley in the U.K.
The company expects to grow its chemical manufacturing capacity in North America and Asia Pacific by about 40 percent, in part by adding 13 new facilities including two world-class steam crackers in the United States.
Woods said the company is focused on four fundamentals: integration, technology, operational excellence and project execution.
Woods provided details of ExxonMobil’s response to a resolution passed during the 2017 shareholders meeting seeking more information on how the company will address the risks of climate change.
Oil and natural gas continue to play a significant role in meeting the world’s energy needs in each scenario and remain important sources, even in models with the lowest level of total energy demand. The analysis also confirmed that more advances in technology will be required.
The company is working with Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy on a novel approach to capture carbon from natural gas power plants through fuel cell technology, advanced algae biofuels with partner Synthetic Genomics in California, and a more efficient chemical manufacturing technology with the Georgia Institute of Technology that could minimize process emissions, among numerous other projects and partnerships.
ExxonMobil also unveiled its initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions associated with its operations, specifically a targeted 15 percent reduction in methane emissions associated with production assets and a 25 percent reduction in flaring. Since 2000, ExxonMobil has spent more than $9 billion to develop and deploy higher-efficiency and lower-emission energy solutions across its operations.