investing in America’s energy future

May 1, 2008

By 2030, experts predict that the world will require about 40 percent more energy than it did in 2005. Growth in developing countries will drive most of this increase, but energy demand is expected to increase in the United States, too.

ExxonMobil is helping meet these needs by continuing to make massive investments in future energy development — over $355 billion worldwide from 1983 through 2007, which exceeded our total earnings during that period. From 2003 through 2007 alone, we invested nearly $89 billion, including nearly $25 billion in North America.

We are now investing at record levels, and expect to spend more than $125 billion in the next five years to deliver major projects to help meet growing energy demand.

Today, for example, to help supply the U.S. market, we are unlocking the natural gas potential of Colorado's Piceance Basin, and also investing in the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Since 1995, we have added the equivalent capacity of a new industry-average-size refinery every three years worldwide, and have projects underway that will increase supplies of ultra low sulfur diesel by 3.4 million gallons per day from our U.S. refineries.

Such projects help strengthen energy security by increasing and diversifying supplies available to Americans, which mitigates the impact of a disruption in any one country or region. In addition, enabling access to more of the unexplored oil and gas potential in the U.S. would allow companies to invest and develop more resources closer to home for American consumers.

Investing in new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of our global operations is also a priority. Such investments, for example, have led to drilling technology improvements that result in smaller footprints; have reduced energy use and emissions at our refineries and chemical plants; provide cleaner burning fuels to consumers; and help improve the fuel economy of the cars our customers drive.

And we are working with leading research institutions to identify breakthrough technologies that can deliver energy with dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Stable and impartial tax policies are critical to companies looking to invest on such a scale. ExxonMobil’s total U.S. tax expenses from 2003 through 2007 were nearly $65 billion, exceeding our U.S.-based earnings during that period by almost $19 billion.

As the U.S. economy grows, so will Americans’ energy needs. Government can help meet these needs by enabling access to resources and ensuring consistent and impartial rules for all energy investments. We are committed to meet these needs through continued investments in energy supplies and ever cleaner technologies that help secure America’s economic future.