We have just announced that ExxonMobil has completed its agreement with XTO Energy Inc., creating a new organization to focus on global development and production of unconventional resources. XTO stockholders approved the agreement at a special meeting held today in Fort Worth, Texas. The new organization will continue to be known as XTO Energy Inc. and will maintain its head office location in Fort Worth.

We’re very pleased with the agreement because it combines XTO’s skills, capabilities and asset base with ExxonMobil’s R&D and operational capabilities, as well as our global scale and financial capacity. The new organization will create the opportunity for more jobs and investment in the development and production of clean-burning natural gas, both here in the United States and around the world.

This is good news for the United States because we have plentiful natural gas supplies – about 80 to 100 years of natural gas resources at current production rates, according to estimates. And, because it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than other fuels used for electricity, such as coal, we believe natural gas is the fuel of choice for power generation.

I’ll have more to say about the critical role of natural gas in future posts, and you can read more about the agreement with XTO in our press release.