EnergyFactor By ExxonMobil | Pespectives has a new home

Energy Technology

To hear Barack Obama in last night’s first presidential debate, you would think he was running against ExxonMobil this November given his tendency to single us out for criticism. In a discussion of ways to address the federal deficit, the president repeated incorrect claims that ExxonMobil receives what he termed “corporate welfare.” Because we’ve been pulled into this debate, I feel like asking the moderator to let me respond with several points.

In a recent speech in Philadelphia, XTO President Jack Williams talked about the industry’s responsibility to communicate our commitment to planning, safety and operational integrity at every stage in the development of shale natural gas. Effective communication about this energy source is particularly critical in regions that haven’t been major energy-producing centers since the late 19th century.


Canada has one of the world’s largest resources of energy in the oil sands regions of Alberta. The oil sands are a critical resource helping support U.S. energy security and economic growth – and industry is making continuous improvements in the environmental profile of their development. A prime example is ExxonMobil’s Kearl Oil Sands Project.

People know the U.S. has dramatically increased domestic production of oil and gas the last few years, but by how much? How about 100 times as much? That’s the experience in North Dakota’s Bakken formation, where production in July exceeded 600,000 barrels of oil per day — up from 6,000 bpd just six years ago. Those numbers are a testament to the natural resource revolution spurred by innovative technologies that enable production from unconventional sources like shale and tight rock.


Earlier this month, the United States Energy Information Administration announced that “proved reserves of U.S. oil and natural gas in 2010 rose by the highest amounts ever recorded” since EIA began publishing proved reserves estimates in 1977. This record jump is stunning news, especially considering a general trend of decreasing production between 1980 and 2000. That trend is now being reversed.

One billion dollars every single day. That is the rough measure of the benefit the U.S. economy is estimated to receive by the end of this year thanks to the development of new supplies of oil and natural gas, according to a new analysis.



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