ExxonMobil (XOM) will still be producing oil and gas in 2050, the energy company's CEO told Yahoo Finance on Monday, but fossil fuels will likely make up a smaller portion of the business.
Darren Woods said in an interview with Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita that the energy giants “will continue to produce oil and gas, depending on how quickly the world moves to green technologies.” Told..
“that [oil and gas] “It may be a smaller part of the portfolio than it is now,” he said.
Woods envisions using oil and gas as raw materials for materials that are more efficient and require fewer emissions to manufacture.
“The products we make in 2050 may be very different from the products we make today,” Woods said. He cited, for example, resin materials derived from fuel molecules that can be used as an alternative to rebar commonly used in construction projects.
“It's lightweight, it has low emissions, it's cost-effective, it doesn't corrode, so it's the world's first product made from gasoline molecules,” Woods said.
The comments come as Exxon and other companies in the industry double down on oil and gas procurement through new deals. This week, the energy giant completed its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, making Exxon the Permian Basin's largest company. Mr. Woods emphasized the company's goal to produce more oil in a more cost-effective manner while accelerating net-zero operations.
“We are taking [Pioneer’s] “The 2050 Net Zero Commitment and its translation into a 35-year Net Zero Plan are good for the American economy, good for American consumers, good for American energy security and good for the environment,” Woods said.
Woods also called for scaling up solutions to reduce emissions over the long term.
“What we need to do is open the door, find the capacity of every company and industry to reduce emissions, and do so in a constructive way,” he said.
He said he did not believe the answer to net zero included eliminating fossil fuels completely.
“If we want to dramatically reduce the emissions that are happening today, we need to abandon the energy system we have, and that means people all over the world will have to do without it,” he said. Told. “People at the bottom of the economic prosperity scale will be penalized if they don't have affordable and reliable energy. By my definition, that's not a just transition.”
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @ines_ferre.
