ExxonMobil CEO Demands End To All Restrictions On Oil Extraction

[hatrack]

VIENNA - Oil producers' struggle to keep up with rampant global demand growth will only be won with access to oilfields now off-limits, Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) chief executive Lee Raymond said yesterday.

"The outlook sets before us an enormous task of finding and producing the huge and increasing amounts of energy required by the people of the world," Raymond said in a speech to the OPEC International Seminar in Vienna. Worries that global oil demand is growing faster than producers can pump have underpinned a 35 percent surge in crude prices this year to a peak of $49.40 a barrel, prompting some to declare the end of the cheap oil era.

Raymond said he expected world energy demand to grow by between 65 and 85 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020, roughly eight-times the current rate from the world's top producer Saudi Arabia.

"The future need for petroleum energy will be such that restrictions in whatever form and wherever imposed, will jeopardize access to adequate energy supplies to world consumers," he said. International oil companies have been kept out of a leading producers Saudi Arabia and Mexico, while environmental regulations have hindered exploration in potentially energy rich areas like the U.S. Arctic."

EDIT

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/27180/story.htm

[GAspnes]

1. and then?

Seems like a better policy would be to start easing back on demand instead.

Raymond is proposing speeding up as the brick wall approaches.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. "We're headin' for a brick wall at 100 miles an hour

It's not about survival
It's about power...."

("Why Should I Care?" a song by Robert Hoyt)

[soupkitchen]

2. This guy also thinks there is no relationship between fossil fuel

consumption and global warming. A very dangerous man in my opinion.

[mhr]

3. He Seems Desperate To Keep The Profit Pump Going! Conservation Equals

the loss of revenue and the loss of his job.

[bemildred]

4. Sounds like a "Red Queen" situation to me.

Maybe it's time to "think outside the box" Lee.

[Ready4Change]

6. Soon to be unavoidable.

As demand unstrips production every restriction WILL be demolished as the world panics to fuel it's power demands. Unless some miracle power source is developed, and soon, environmental concerns will no longer be considered.

It's short sighted, it's wrong, but the human species, as a whole, seems incapable of making more rational choices.

That's why, f I were President, developing alternative energy sources would be my top priority. As the oil worlds desperation grows, providing an alternative will be the best means of stopping wars and protecting the environment. Plus, as oil prices skyrocket, alternatives will become massively profitable. Win-Win.

[Squeech]

7. I understand there may be oil inside his head

Shall we drill?

Or run seismic tests first?

N.B. This is a reductio ad absurdum argument, not an actual opinion.

[NNadir]

8. This guy has a controlling interest in George Bush.

I hope we will succeed at Enronizing his investment.

[RebelYell]

9. ExxonMobil is one of our clients where I work

They are complete and total asshats.

[blindpig]

10. madness

are these people actually this stupid/greedy or WTF are they actually up to? THAT's the $64,000 question.

[fedsron2us]

11. Translation

You OPEC state owned oil companies better give us access to drill your reserves otherwise our friends in the US government will take them by force.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1095545411401&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724