ExxonMobil and Abu Dhabi

Meeting global energy
and environmental challenges through innovation
3
Chairman Tillerson began his
speech by saluting six years of
promising energy research at the
Stanford-based Global Climate
and Energy Project (GCEP),
founded in 2002 with ExxonMobil
as lead sponsor. He noted that
GCEP’s network of scientists,
engineers, researchers and students
involves 20 research institutions
on four continents, with
Stanford at the hub. “GCEP’s
work is ultimately about laying
the scientific foundations for
practical problem-solving that will
help advance broad-based commercial
solutions,” he said.
Technology, said Tillerson, is
the single, most vital element that
should unite all efforts to attain
our energy and environmental
goals. He said ExxonMobil has
invested more than $6 billion in
technology in just the past six
years, and maintains several
company research centers in the
United States and elsewhere.
“Our 14,000 scientists and engineers
are part of the broader
technical and scientific community
dedicated to energy and
environmental problem-solving
through technology innovation.”
Oil, natural gas continue as
prime energy sources
While the current global economic
downturn has reduced
energy demand and prices,
Tillerson said the world econ-
Story by Thomas L. Torget
In a February speech at Stanford University,
ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex W. Tillerson
described the critical role of technology in meeting
the challenge of delivering more energy while
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
omy will recover, and so too will
energy demand.
Growing populations in
developing countries will drive
increased energy demand, which
is expected to be 35 percent
higher in 2030 than in 2005.
Meeting this demand requires
that we develop all economic
and environmentally sound
sources of energy, including oil
and natural gas, which Tillerson
described as “abundant, available,
versatile and affordable.”
Tillerson noted that huge
investments over many decades
have enabled oil and gas to meet
nearly 60 percent of world energy
needs today, and that these
same fuels will meet the majority
of world energy demand through
at least 2030. Alternatives such
as solar, wind, nuclear and biofuels
will make a significant and
growing contribution, but no
single energy source solves the
dual challenge of meeting growing
energy needs while reducing
emissions. “For now and the foreseeable
future, an integrated set
of solutions is required,” he said.
Turning to environmental
challenges, Tillerson explained
that thanks to greater energy
efficiency and growing use of
cleaner fuels such as natural
gas, greenhouse gas emissions
are expected to decline in some
developed economies. U.S.
energy-related carbon-dioxide
emissions are approaching a
plateau and will decrease over
the next two decades, he said.
“These trends are set to continue
and potentially accelerate,
not only in the United States but
in other developed economies
as well.”
Greenhouse gas emissions
to rise in developing nations
But the challenge of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions is
more daunting for developing
economies, said Tillerson. “By
2030 China’s carbon-dioxide
emissions will be comparable
to those of the United States
and Europe combined,” he said.
“Even with dramatic gains in efficiency,
rising demand for energy
will continue to push related
carbon-dioxide emissions higher
through 2030, an increase of 28
percent from 2005.”
Tillerson noted that any new
technology – however promising
– faces practical barriers in
bringing it to the energy marketplace.
These barriers include
performance, cost, safety,
environmental impacts and consumer
acceptance.
He said ExxonMobil’s integrated
approach to increasing
supplies and reducing emissions
is exemplified by the company’s
Global Energy Management
System. The system involves daily
tracking of more than 12,000
energy variables throughout the
company’s refining, marketing
and chemical operations. “Since
2000, we have identified $1.5 billion
in potential efficiency savings,
and approximately 60 percent of
those savings have been captured
to date,” he added.
New technologies
in transportation
Tillerson mentioned several
ExxonMobil technologies that
are improving energy efficiency in
the transportation sector. These
include tire liners that keep tires
inflated longer, advanced fuel