Never one to hog the popularity rankings since the 1989 Valdez oil spill in Alaska, Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest public oil company, has for years dealt with a barrage of criticism.
DALLAS — It has been accused of profiting off the backs of hard-working Americans, keeping the world's biggest economy addicted to oil and being an enemy of the planet.
These days, there isn't much Exxon Mobil Corp. is not accused of.
It is America's biggest company, America's most profitable and now, one of America's biggest corporate villains in the eyes of consumers squeezed by rising gasoline prices.
Never one to hog the popularity rankings since the 1989 Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the world's largest public oil company has for years dealt with a barrage of criticism.
But the controversy over gasoline topping $3 a gallon, its $36 billion profit last year and a large pay package for a former CEO has recently turned the normally reclusive company into one pitching a consumer-friendly image.
Accused for years of being aloof and arrogant, Exxon Mobil is lately offering to engage in a dialogue with its critics, flooding the airwaves and newspapers with advertisements and has even sent its CEO on the popular "Today" morning talk show to win the hearts and minds of the average American.
Nowhere was the kinder, gentler image Exxon is pushing hard to develop more obvious than in Dallas last week, where Texas oilman Rex Tillerson presided over its annual meeting for the first time as CEO.
In a departure from predecessor Lee Raymond's frosty manner at the meetings, Tillerson laughed gaily with critics, joked about holding the meeting in Luckenbach, Texas, and patiently answered repeated questions on global warming.
When an irate clergyman offered one month of his pay for one week of Tillerson's to bet renewable energy would play a bigger role in the future than Exxon claimed, the amused CEO agreed. "I don't want to take the money," Tillerson said, laughing. "We can take the friendly bet, you make sure we find each other in 10 years."
THE EXXON EDUCATION
Also gone were the snippy retorts to shareholder tirades for which Raymond was famous. And neither did Tillerson adopt Raymond's tactic of abruptly switching off the microphone when a speaker crossed his allotted two-minute time limit.
Applause greeted some of his remarks and the meeting ended with some critics calling his manner "civil" and "gracious."
"We are the largest oil company in the world," Tillerson told reporters after the meeting. "People are going to be watching what we say."
All that has given hope to some of Exxon's detractors that there may be real change under way in how the company operates.
"We are hoping this is a moment in time," said Athan Manuel, a lobbyist with the public watchdog group U.S. PIRG, who stood outside the meeting along with about 60 protesters beating drums and chanting slogans.
But Tillerson, for all his warm demeanor, has made it clear he is not straying from the company's long-held beliefs and investment practices.
The company still believes oil prices will come down from their lofty $70 a barrel levels, unlike others in the industry who think high oil prices are here to stay. It still views the science behind global warming with skepticism. And you won't see it investing in wind or solar energy any time soon.
"The term scientific consensus is an oxymoron in itself," Tillerson said when one shareholder suggested there was consensus on global warming.
"This is what's perplexing to me. I come away from these conversations and ask, 'What exactly do they want?' I don't know what you want. We're going to be an active participant in this debate. We're just going to have to disagree."
Nor does Exxon plan to build a new refinery in the United States or otherwise rush to change its investment plans to mollify critics who say it is not investing enough to bring oil prices down.
Indeed, Exxon says its public relations effort is mainly to educate consumers because it was struck by the poor understanding among consumers over how the oil business works.
And as Tillerson himself admits, there is plenty at stake for the company as it faces scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers who have already paraded Big Oil executives on Capitol Hill and now talk of imposing special taxes on their profits.
"Our hope is that they will keep a long-term perspective and not react to this short-term emotion that everyone is feeling," Tillerson said. "It's real emotion. I'm not discounting it. But that's never a good environment to make long-term decisions in."
Source: Reuters
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