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I recall 10 years ago when an oil & gas company was in the process of re-branding themselves and wants to call them "The Energy Company" given that the thrust f

I recall 10 years ago when an oil & gas company was in the process of re-branding themselves and wants to call them "The Energy Company" given that the thrust for organizations and governments were geared towards reduction of greenhouse emissions caused by fossil fuels. This was also promoted heavily by environmentalists and climate change advocates who have added to the mounting pressure that these companies have to tackle. Not to discount as well the heavy tax burdens for these companies to operate. But the sheer reality is that whilst there is technology available to harness these clean sources (solar, wind, wave, etc.), these companies cannot easily abandon the investment that they already have in terms of infrastructure, process and technology in the extraction of current sources. It goes alongside that the demand for fuel fossils is in essence a never-ending demand that needs to be supplied, for which supplying them makes a lot of business sense. Look around the street corner and count the number of vehicles that rely on traditional energy source (gas, diesel) as opposed to the vehicles that require other form of energy (electric). The ratio is probably 100:1. Even with the advancements in the field of being able to fully harness the energy provided by fossil fuels (and thereby minimizing consumption), it is still a stark reality that the demand for it is there. Oil companies are certainly looking beyond fossil fuels, but until there is an actual business incentive to go full thrust on renewable energy vs gas/diesel/fossil fuels, then the latter is here to stay in the long run.

mywittyname 8y ago
For reference, ExxonMobile controls 70 BILLION barrels of oil. That's 70 billion * $70 ~= $5 trillion at current prices. On top of this, most years, their reserves increase, not decrease. No company is going to walk away from $5,000,000,000,000 in potential revenue unless the margins are very negative.
- gdpgreg 8y ago
  1)Your wrong, they have 28billion barrels equivalent in proven reserves 2)they make more than that because they're vertically integrated
  - King-Aaron 8y ago
    I don't want to be "that guy", but if you're both going to disagree over the figures maybe some citations would be helpful. i.e. http://www.petroleum.co.uk/exxon-mobil http://www.petroleum.co.uk/exxon-mobil > ExxonMobil has oil reserves equivalent to 72 billion barrels. It also owns 37 refineries in 21 countries, making it the largest refiner of crude in the world with a capacity of 6.3 million barrels per day.
- kk58 8y ago
  Reserves Vs reserves recoverable are different in addition it's boe ie gas reserves also converted to oil. So N* 70 won't work. Wall Street ain't dumb when it comes to estimating stock prices. ExxonMobil RRR has been struggling for a while
woodandsteel 8y ago
>Look around the street corner and count the number of vehicles that rely on traditional energy source (gas, diesel) as opposed to the vehicles that require other form of energy (electric). The ratio is probably 100:1 The experts say that around 2012-2025 EV's are going to become cheaper than ICE's, and the market is going to shift radically. The oil companies are looking to the future.
- woodandsteel 8y ago
  oops, that should be 2023-2025
- AngeloAnolin 8y ago
  Yes, I do agree that the shift will happen soon. Radical? Maybe, depends on the technology and progress made towards it. But you can never discount as well that vehicle manufacturers are also researching / innovating on ways to make their ICE's more efficient. Again, you cannot simply throw away the investments that car manufacturers have thrown into making their gas (or diesel) dependent vehicles.
  - tonyedgecombe 8y ago
    Again, you cannot simply throw away the investments that car manufacturers have thrown into making their gas (or diesel) dependent vehicles. The market could do exactly that, just as it decided to throw away investments in film cameras, vacuum tubes, CRT monitors, steam engines, etc.

mywittyname 8y ago

For reference, ExxonMobile controls 70 BILLION barrels of oil. That's 70 billion * $70 ~= $5 trillion at current prices. On top of this, most years, their reserves increase, not decrease. No company is going to walk away from $5,000,000,000,000 in potential revenue unless the margins are very negative.

gdpgreg 8y ago
1)Your wrong, they have 28billion barrels equivalent in proven reserves 2)they make more than that because they're vertically integrated
- King-Aaron 8y ago
  I don't want to be "that guy", but if you're both going to disagree over the figures maybe some citations would be helpful. i.e. http://www.petroleum.co.uk/exxon-mobil http://www.petroleum.co.uk/exxon-mobil > ExxonMobil has oil reserves equivalent to 72 billion barrels. It also owns 37 refineries in 21 countries, making it the largest refiner of crude in the world with a capacity of 6.3 million barrels per day.
kk58 8y ago
Reserves Vs reserves recoverable are different in addition it's boe ie gas reserves also converted to oil. So N* 70 won't work. Wall Street ain't dumb when it comes to estimating stock prices. ExxonMobil RRR has been struggling for a while

woodandsteel 8y ago

>Look around the street corner and count the number of vehicles that rely on traditional energy source (gas, diesel) as opposed to the vehicles that require other form of energy (electric). The ratio is probably 100:1 The experts say that around 2012-2025 EV's are going to become cheaper than ICE's, and the market is going to shift radically. The oil companies are looking to the future.

woodandsteel 8y ago
oops, that should be 2023-2025
AngeloAnolin 8y ago
Yes, I do agree that the shift will happen soon. Radical? Maybe, depends on the technology and progress made towards it. But you can never discount as well that vehicle manufacturers are also researching / innovating on ways to make their ICE's more efficient. Again, you cannot simply throw away the investments that car manufacturers have thrown into making their gas (or diesel) dependent vehicles.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  Again, you cannot simply throw away the investments that car manufacturers have thrown into making their gas (or diesel) dependent vehicles. The market could do exactly that, just as it decided to throw away investments in film cameras, vacuum tubes, CRT monitors, steam engines, etc.