EXXON CHOOSE NOT TO LOOSE

ExxonMobil shareholders overwhelmingly rejected several environmental resolutions including proposals to put a climate change expert on the board and set goals for greenhouse gas emissions.

At the oil giant's annual meeting on Wednesday in Dallas, CEO Rex Tillerson gave a stay-the-course outlook for the company, which has seen profits decline recently with lower prices for crude oil. Tillerson has said that oil prices will remain low over the next two years because of large global supplies and weak economic growth.

Exxon has completed more than a dozen major projects in the past three years and expects an equal number to begin production through 2017. The company is paring back on capital spending as those projects are completed from $38.5bn last year to $34bn this year and less in 2016 and 2017.

Shareholders rejected a proposal by an organization of Catholic priests in Milwaukee to put a climate change expert on the board. The Exxon board opposed the resolution, saying several board members have engineering and scientific backgrounds and can handle climate issues, and it gained only 21% support.

Michael Crosby, the resolution's sponsor, said that Exxon is fixated on oil and gas and isn't paying enough attention to renewable energy and climate change.

"This company has to be making plans for the future," he said. "Let's get an expert on the board to deal with a critical question."

Others proposed that ExxonMobil set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its products, such as gasoline, but that got only 9.6% support. Vermont state treasurer Beth Pearce said institutional investors are growing more concerned about the topic, and Exxon management's strategy for diversifying its production beyond oil and gas has been "wholly inadequate".

A measure calling for a report on the impact of the company's hydraulic fracturing practices drew 24.9% support.

On climate change, Tillerson said that models predicting the effects of global warming aren't very good and that it would be very hard for the world to meet aggressive emission-reduction targets. He said technology can help deal with rising sea levels or changing weather patterns "that may or may not be induced by climate change".

"Mankind has this enormous capacity to deal with adversity," Tillerson said. "I know that is an unsatisfactory answer to a lot of people."

ExxonMobil and other oil companies have faced frequent proposals dealing with climate change and other environmental issues, and they are regularly defeated. In January, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to back a shareholder resolution requiring the company to commit to reduce emissions and invest in renewable energy.

Tillerson repeated his long-held view that renewable energy is not economical yet, adding, "We choose not to lose money on purpose." Shareholders in the hall broke into applause.

Exxon earned $32.5bn last year, down less than 1% from 2013. However, oil prices fell by about half in late 2014, and Exxon's profit in the first quarter of 2015 tumbled 46% compared with the same period in 2014, although it still earned $4.9bn.

Exxon Mobil shares were down 32 cents to $85.03 in midday trading on Wednesday after the votes. Its shares are down 16% over the past year.

theguardian.com