ExxonMobil chair, CEO to NBC: No 'help' is on the way

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Published: Wednesday May 3, 2006

Responding today to questions by NBC's Today show host Matt Lauer on the topic of high gas prices and peak oil, Exxonmobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson has stated consumers shouldn't be expecting any relief on the way from big oil.

When asked by Lauer if ExxonMobil would "be willing to lower profits over the summer to help out in this time of need and crisis," Tillerson was unsympathetic.

"We work for the shareholder," Tillerson told the anchor. "And the investors who own our stock are over 2 million individual Americans and a lot of pension plans, a lot of teacher retirement plans. And our job is to go out and make the most money for those people so that their pensions are secure, so that they see the benefits of our work."

When asked to clarify that the answer was a "no," Tillerson explained, "Well, that's not the business. We're in the business to make money."

Just prior to that exchange, Lauer had asked Tillerson, "Are we going to run out of oil someday?"

The oil giant replied, "No, we're not going to run out of oil anytime in my lifetime or yours. The resource base of the globe is enormous and can support the current demand and can support the future economic growth as well."

Oil production in the United States peaked in 1971, and has declined since. Some researchers have argued that world oil production peak production will peak some time in the next 15 years. Others have stated they believe it already peaked, naming various points in the last six years.