ExxonMobil letter to shareholders: “….For several years, our Outlook for Energy has explicitly accounted for the prospect of policies regulating greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This factor, among many others, has informed investments decisions that have led ExxonMobil to become the leading producer of cleaner-burning natural gas in the United States, for example. Based on this analysis, we are confident that none of our hydrocarbon reserves are now or will become “stranded.”
“We believe producing these assets is essential to meeting growing energy demand worldwide, and in preventing consumers – especially those in the least developed and most vulnerable economies – from themselves becoming stranded in the global pursuit of higher living standards and greater economic opportunity.”
In summary, ExxonMobil’s Outlook for Energy continues to provide the basis for our long-term investment decisions. Similar to the forecasts of other independent analysts, our Outlook envisions a world in which populations are growing, economies are expanding, living standards are rising, and, as a result, energy needs are increasing. Meeting these needs will require all economic energy sources, especially oil and natural gas. Our Outlook for Energy also envisions that governments will enact policies to constrain carbon in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage the risks of climate change. We seek to quantify the cumulative impact of such policies in a proxy cost of carbon, which has been a consistent feature of our Outlook for Energy for many years. We rigorously consider the risk of climate change in our planning bases and investments. Our investments are stress tested against a conservative set of economic bases and a broad spectrum of economic assumptions to help ensure that they will perform adequately, even in circumstances that the company may not foresee, which provides an additional margin of safety. We also require that all significant proposed projects include a cost of carbon – which reflects our best assessment of costs associated with potential GHG regulations over the Outlook period – when being evaluated for investment. Our Outlook for Energy does not envision the “low carbon scenario” advocated by some because the costs and the damaging impact to accessible, reliable and affordable energy resulting from the policy changes such a scenario would produce are beyond those that societies, especially the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, would be willing to bear, in our estimation. In the final analysis, we believe ExxonMobil is well positioned to continue to deliver results to our shareholders and deliver energy to the world’s consumers far into the future. Meeting the economic needs of people around the world in a safe and environmentally responsible manner not only informs our Outlook for Energy and guides our investment decisions, it is also animates our business and inspires our workforce
Future Today
