Barnett Shale: Exxon CEO sees more gas demand from power industry
Natural gas will continue to displace coal for power generation, and represents the best opportunity for the natural gas industry to boost domestic demand, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said Wednesday.Speaking after the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Dallas, Tillerson predicted that “as additional electricity capacity has to be built out, there’s going to be a substantial increase in natural gas-fired power generation,” both when replacing older coal-fired power plants and when used as a complement to wind power’s fluctuating output.
Tillerson addressed the demand issue in relation to the Irving-based company’s acquisition of Fort Worth-based XTO Energy two years ago. While Exxon expected natural gas prices to weaken from their levels at the time of the purchase, the weak economy has further depressed prices by stalling demand growth, he said.During the shareholder’s meeting, Tillerson also repeated Exxon’s interest in exporting natural gas from North America, where a supply glut has produced the lowest prices in a decade. He said the company continues to study the prospects of a Gulf Coast terminal and a western Canada terminal to ship liquefied natural gas to overseas markets, where the fuel draws a considerably higher price than in North America.
In other actions at the annual meeting, shareholders rejected two environmental proposals, one calling for further disclosure of risks involved with hydraulic fracturing and another for setting goals for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
-- Jim Fuquay
May 30, 2012
Exxon CEO sees more gas demand from power industry
Natural gas will continue to displace coal for power generation, and represents the best opportunity for the natural gas industry to boost domestic demand, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said Wednesday.Speaking after the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Dallas, Tillerson predicted that “as additional electricity capacity has to be built out, there’s going to be a substantial increase in natural gas-fired power generation,” both when replacing older coal-fired power plants and when used as a complement to wind power’s fluctuating output.
Tillerson addressed the demand issue in relation to the Irving-based company’s acquisition of Fort Worth-based XTO Energy two years ago. While Exxon expected natural gas prices to weaken from their levels at the time of the purchase, the weak economy has further depressed prices by stalling demand growth, he said.During the shareholder’s meeting, Tillerson also repeated Exxon’s interest in exporting natural gas from North America, where a supply glut has produced the lowest prices in a decade. He said the company continues to study the prospects of a Gulf Coast terminal and a western Canada terminal to ship liquefied natural gas to overseas markets, where the fuel draws a considerably higher price than in North America.
In other actions at the annual meeting, shareholders rejected two environmental proposals, one calling for further disclosure of risks involved with hydraulic fracturing and another for setting goals for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
-- Jim Fuquay
