Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced ambitious plans for its seventh oil project in Guyana, named Hammerhead, as part of its ongoing efforts to expand oil production in the South American nation. The development plan, revealed by the Guyanese government on Monday, outlines Exxon's intention to drill up to 30 wells in the offshore field.

The Hammerhead project, which is currently awaiting government approval, is scheduled to commence production in 2029. If greenlit, this new venture could significantly boost Guyana's oil production capacity, potentially elevating it to more than 1.4 million barrels per day. This proposed expansion underscores Guyana's rapidly growing importance in the global oil market.

Exxon Mobil, which operates all production in Guyana in partnership with Hess Corp and China's CNOOC, projects a daily production capacity between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels of crude oil from the Hammerhead field. While substantial, this output is less than the 250,000 barrels per day capacity of Exxon's largest vessels currently operating in the country.

The proposed floating production unit for the Hammerhead project is expected to be a converted Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC). This vessel will have the capability to store approximately 1.4 to 2 million barrels of oil, providing significant on-site storage capacity. The production facility is planned to be situated 15 kilometres (9 miles) southwest of Liza Destiny, Exxon's inaugural platform in Guyana.

This latest development comes as part of Exxon's broader strategy to capitalise on Guyana's rich offshore oil reserves. The company's continued investment in the region reflects its confidence in the country's potential as a major oil producer. Since its first discovery in 2015, Exxon and its partners have made more than 30 discoveries in Guyana's waters, rapidly transforming the country's economic landscape.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced ambitious plans for its seventh oil project in Guyana, named Hammerhead, as part of its ongoing efforts to expand oil production in the South American nation.

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced ambitious plans for its seventh oil project in Guyana, named Hammerhead, as part of its ongoing efforts to expand oil production in the South American nation. The development plan, revealed by the Guyanese government on Monday, outlines Exxon's intention to drill up to 30 wells in the offshore field. The Hammerhead project, which is currently awaiting government approval, is scheduled to commence production in 2029. If greenlit, this new venture could significantly boost Guyana's oil production capacity, potentially elevating it to more than 1.4 million barrels per day. This proposed expansion underscores Guyana's rapidly growing importance in the global oil market. Exxon Mobil, which operates all production in Guyana in partnership with Hess Corp and China's CNOOC, projects a daily production capacity between 120,000 and 180,000 barrels of crude oil from the Hammerhead field. While substantial, this output is less than the 250,000 barrels per day capacity of Exxon's largest vessels currently operating in the country. The proposed floating production unit for the Hammerhead project is expected to be a converted Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC). This vessel will have the capability to store approximately 1.4 to 2 million barrels of oil, providing significant on-site storage capacity. The production facility is planned to be situated 15 kilometres (9 miles) southwest of Liza Destiny, Exxon's inaugural platform in Guyana. This latest development comes as part of Exxon's broader strategy to capitalise on Guyana's rich offshore oil reserves. The company's continued investment in the region reflects its confidence in the country's potential as a major oil producer. Since its first discovery in 2015, Exxon and its partners have made more than 30 discoveries in Guyana's waters, rapidly transforming the country's economic landscape.

Exxon Mobil reveals plans for seventh oil project in Guyana

Guyana's efforts to capitalise on its energy bounty, a significant project aimed at reducing electricity costs through a gas-to-power initiative will be delayed until 2025.

The project, valued at $1.9 billion, was initially slated to commence this year but has encountered delays due to various factors including work delays, late equipment deliveries, and issues with the project's foundation.

Winston Brassington, a government consultant involved in the project, revealed that the combined-cycle power plant will not achieve full operation until the fourth quarter of 2025.

The project, which was a pledge made to Guyana's residents to reduce energy costs by 50 per cent this year, has faced setbacks despite efforts to secure financing. Guyana is requesting a $646 million loan from the US Export-Import Bank to fund the onshore facilities.

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil, currently constructing a $1 billion pipeline, will be reimbursed by proceeds from the country's offshore production. The gas pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to Alistair Routledge, Exxon Guyana country chief.

However, despite these delays, the government remains optimistic about the project's progress. It expects the power plant to start delivering 200 MW by June 30 next year, with project completion and delivery of 300 MW on a combined cycle by the end of 2025.

While challenges persist, Guyana continues its efforts to harness its energy resources for the benefit of its population and economy.

The long-standing Essequibo dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, which has lingered for decades, saw a significant breakthrough in December 2023 as both nations reached an agreement to resolve the issue peacefully.

The resolution marks a crucial milestone in the region, particularly considering the rich oil and gas deposits in the disputed area. This agreement underscores the commitment of both countries to avoid resorting to force and instead seek diplomatic solutions to longstanding territorial disputes.

The discovery of crude oil in the Essequibo region by ExxonMobil in 2015 has reshaped Guyana's economic landscape. Prior to this discovery, Guyana primarily relied on agriculture and mining for its economic sustenance.

However, the potential exploitation of substantial oil and gas reserves has swiftly transformed the country's economic prospects. Guyana has since emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies globally, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic slowdowns.

The exponential growth rates, with GDP surging by over 62.3 per cent in 2022, highlight the transformative impact of the oil discoveries on Guyana's economy.

Political tensions surrounding the Essequibo dispute have persisted, with some attributing the escalation to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to consolidate domestic support.

Maduro's actions, including holding a controversial referendum on annexing Essequibo, reflect the intricate geopolitical complexities intertwined with economic interests in the region.

Despite Guyana's potential to become a significant player in the global energy market and substantially increase its GDP per capita, uncertainties loom over its economic future.

The fear of a potential Venezuelan invasion, coupled with broader geopolitical dynamics, raises concerns about Guyana's ability to fully realise its economic potential from its oil wealth.

(With inputs from Reuters)

Guyana's efforts to capitalise on its energy bounty, a significant project aimed at reducing electricity costs through a gas-to-power initiative will be delayed until 2025.

Guyana's efforts to capitalise on its energy bounty, a significant project aimed at reducing electricity costs through a gas-to-power initiative will be delayed until 2025. The project, valued at $1.9 billion, was initially slated to commence this year but has encountered delays due to various factors including work delays, late equipment deliveries, and issues with the project's foundation. Winston Brassington, a government consultant involved in the project, revealed that the combined-cycle power plant will not achieve full operation until the fourth quarter of 2025. The project, which was a pledge made to Guyana's residents to reduce energy costs by 50 per cent this year, has faced setbacks despite efforts to secure financing. Guyana is requesting a $646 million loan from the US Export-Import Bank to fund the onshore facilities. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil, currently constructing a $1 billion pipeline, will be reimbursed by proceeds from the country's offshore production. The gas pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of this year, according to Alistair Routledge, Exxon Guyana country chief. However, despite these delays, the government remains optimistic about the project's progress. It expects the power plant to start delivering 200 MW by June 30 next year, with project completion and delivery of 300 MW on a combined cycle by the end of 2025. While challenges persist, Guyana continues its efforts to harness its energy resources for the benefit of its population and economy. The long-standing Essequibo dispute between Guyana and Venezuela, which has lingered for decades, saw a significant breakthrough in December 2023 as both nations reached an agreement to resolve the issue peacefully. The resolution marks a crucial milestone in the region, particularly considering the rich oil and gas deposits in the disputed area. This agreement underscores the commitment of both countries to avoid resorting to force and instead seek diplomatic solutions to longstanding territorial disputes. The discovery of crude oil in the Essequibo region by ExxonMobil in 2015 has reshaped Guyana's economic landscape. Prior to this discovery, Guyana primarily relied on agriculture and mining for its economic sustenance. However, the potential exploitation of substantial oil and gas reserves has swiftly transformed the country's economic prospects. Guyana has since emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies globally, despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic slowdowns. The exponential growth rates, with GDP surging by over 62.3 per cent in 2022, highlight the transformative impact of the oil discoveries on Guyana's economy. Political tensions surrounding the Essequibo dispute have persisted, with some attributing the escalation to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to consolidate domestic support. Maduro's actions, including holding a controversial referendum on annexing Essequibo, reflect the intricate geopolitical complexities intertwined with economic interests in the region. Despite Guyana's potential to become a significant player in the global energy market and substantially increase its GDP per capita, uncertainties loom over its economic future. The fear of a potential Venezuelan invasion, coupled with broader geopolitical dynamics, raises concerns about Guyana's ability to fully realise its economic potential from its oil wealth. (With inputs from Reuters)

Guyana delays $1.9 billion gas-to-power project until 2025 due to delays and challenges

In an attempt to stop a shareholder vote on tougher emissions targets at its May meeting, Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a lawsuit in a Texas court, launching a legal onslaught against climate campaigners. This is the first time the oil company has blocked a project of this kind by legal means, which raises questions about its environmental duty and may create a difficult legal precedent.

A proposal by investors led by Arjuna Capital and Follow This, which calls for Exxon to set "Scope 3 targets"—goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions generated by the firm as well as by customers who purchase its oil and gas products—is the subject of the case. As the only significant Western oil corporation without such targets, activist investors contend that Exxon ought to adopt them to comply with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

However, Exxon portrays the investors as driven by an&nbsp;"extreme agenda" and asserts that the long-term shareholders' interests are not served by their repeated suggestions. The corporation requests that the vote be removed from its proxy statement by the court because&nbsp;shareholders have already rejected similar proposals in the past.

Exxon deliberately filed the action in the Northern District of Texas, where cases are frequently assigned to judges with conservative slants, adding to the dispute. Judge Reed O'Connor, a George W. Bush appointment noted for his decisions supporting conservative causes on matters like healthcare and gun rights, heard the case. Remarkably, O'Connor previously ruled that Obamacare was unconstitutional; however, the Supreme Court reversed his ruling.

This legal strategy shows how confident Exxon is in its legal approach, but it also runs the danger of upsetting investors who care about the environment and damaging the company's reputation. Observe For example, this argues that establishing Paris-aligned objectives protects shareholders by averting risks like as stranded assets and lost capital access.

For the May 29th shareholder meeting, Exxon needs to file its proxy statement by April 11th, therefore the company is looking for a court ruling by March 19th. The verdict in this case may have a big impact on how corporations are held accountable for climate change, since Exxon's legal risk may have an impact on how other businesses respond to comparable demands from activist shareholders.

(With inputs from Reuters)

In an attempt to stop a shareholder vote on tougher emissions targets at its May meeting, Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a lawsuit in a Texas court, launching a legal onslaught against climate campaigners.

In an attempt to stop a shareholder vote on tougher emissions targets at its May meeting, Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a lawsuit in a Texas court, launching a legal onslaught against climate campaigners. This is the first time the oil company has blocked a project of this kind by legal means, which raises questions about its environmental duty and may create a difficult legal precedent. A proposal by investors led by Arjuna Capital and Follow This, which calls for Exxon to set "Scope 3 targets"—goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions generated by the firm as well as by customers who purchase its oil and gas products—is the subject of the case. As the only significant Western oil corporation without such targets, activist investors contend that Exxon ought to adopt them to comply with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. However, Exxon portrays the investors as driven by an "extreme agenda" and asserts that the long-term shareholders' interests are not served by their repeated suggestions. The corporation requests that the vote be removed from its proxy statement by the court because shareholders have already rejected similar proposals in the past. Exxon deliberately filed the action in the Northern District of Texas, where cases are frequently assigned to judges with conservative slants, adding to the dispute. Judge Reed O'Connor, a George W. Bush appointment noted for his decisions supporting conservative causes on matters like healthcare and gun rights, heard the case. Remarkably, O'Connor previously ruled that Obamacare was unconstitutional; however, the Supreme Court reversed his ruling. This legal strategy shows how confident Exxon is in its legal approach, but it also runs the danger of upsetting investors who care about the environment and damaging the company's reputation. Observe For example, this argues that establishing Paris-aligned objectives protects shareholders by averting risks like as stranded assets and lost capital access. For the May 29th shareholder meeting, Exxon needs to file its proxy statement by April 11th, therefore the company is looking for a court ruling by March 19th. The verdict in this case may have a big impact on how corporations are held accountable for climate change, since Exxon's legal risk may have an impact on how other businesses respond to comparable demands from activist shareholders. (With inputs from Reuters)

Exxon Mobil to block climate proposal in Texas court

Big news from the world of energy as Exxon Mobil, the U.S. Energy giant, officially says goodbye to its role in the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq.

ExxonMobil handsover West Qurna 1 oil field to PetroChina

Chevron corporation has announced a $53 billion all-stock deal to acquire its smaller rival, Hess corporation. This all-stock transaction marks a pivotal moment, intensifying the rivalry between chevron and Exxon Mobil. The acquisition is designed to bolster Chevron's presence in key areas, namely US Shale and the oil-rich region of Guyana.

Chevron acquires rival Hess Corp for $53 billion

Global oil major ExxonMobil Corp on Tuesday informed it reaped a record net profit of $56 billion last year as oil prices touched record highs due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.&nbsp;

Exxon beat its own record of $45.2 billion in profits set way back in 2008 when oil prices hit $142 a barrel. Moreover, the figure was more than double the profit it managed in 2021&nbsp;($23 billion).&nbsp;

"Overall earnings and cash flow were up pretty significantly year on year. So that came really from a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control," Kathryn Mikells, Exxon CFO was quoted as saying by Reuters.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/energy-giant-exxonmobil-sues-european-union-in-a-bid-to-block-new-windfall-tax-547579">WATCH |&nbsp;WION Climate Trcaker: ExxonMobil sowed doubt about climate change?</a>

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After Exxon released its earning report, the White House responded and said it was 'outrageous' that a western oil company recorded such profits while ordinary Americans suffered.&nbsp;

"It’s outrageous that Exxon has posted a new record for Western oil company profits after the American people were forced to pay such high prices at the pump amid Putin’s invasion," said Abdullah Hassan, White House assistant press secretary.

Much of the criticism for oil companies such as Exxon stems from the fact that they use the profits to repurchase the shares, distribute dividends, instead of increasing the production capacity which could bring down the prices.&nbsp;

"The latest earnings reports make clear that oil companies have everything they need, including record profits and thousands of unused but approved permits, to increase production, but they’re instead choosing to plow those profits into padding the pockets of executives and shareholders while House Republicans manufacture excuse after excuse to shield them from any accountability," added&nbsp;Hassan.&nbsp;

With Exxon managing record profits, the debate regarding levying a windfall tax on the company has once again gained pace as critics demand more scrutiny of oil companies.&nbsp;

While the US is yet to take a call, the European Union imposed a windfall tax on the company in Q4 which reduced its earnings by $1.3 billion.&nbsp;

The Texas-based American company is currently suing European Union in a bid to block paying the tax.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/energy-giant-exxonmobil-sues-european-union-in-a-bid-to-block-new-windfall-tax-547579">Read more:&nbsp;Energy giant ExxonMobil sues European Union in a bid to block new windfall tax</a>

Notably, windfall tax is designed to tax the profits a company makes from an unprecedented event. In this case, the&nbsp;Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in energy prices which has driven up Exxon's profit numbers.&nbsp;&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Global oil major ExxonMobil Corp on Tuesday informed it reaped a record net profit of $56 billion last year as oil prices touched record highs due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Global oil major ExxonMobil Corp on Tuesday informed it reaped a record net profit of $56 billion last year as oil prices touched record highs due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Exxon beat its own record of $45.2 billion in profits set way back in 2008 when oil prices hit $142 a barrel. Moreover, the figure was more than double the profit it managed in 2021 ($23 billion). "Overall earnings and cash flow were up pretty significantly year on year. So that came really from a combination of strong markets, strong throughput, strong production, and really good cost control," Kathryn Mikells, Exxon CFO was quoted as saying by Reuters. WATCH | WION Climate Trcaker: ExxonMobil sowed doubt about climate change? × After Exxon released its earning report, the White House responded and said it was 'outrageous' that a western oil company recorded such profits while ordinary Americans suffered. "It’s outrageous that Exxon has posted a new record for Western oil company profits after the American people were forced to pay such high prices at the pump amid Putin’s invasion," said Abdullah Hassan, White House assistant press secretary. Much of the criticism for oil companies such as Exxon stems from the fact that they use the profits to repurchase the shares, distribute dividends, instead of increasing the production capacity which could bring down the prices. "The latest earnings reports make clear that oil companies have everything they need, including record profits and thousands of unused but approved permits, to increase production, but they’re instead choosing to plow those profits into padding the pockets of executives and shareholders while House Republicans manufacture excuse after excuse to shield them from any accountability," added Hassan. With Exxon managing record profits, the debate regarding levying a windfall tax on the company has once again gained pace as critics demand more scrutiny of oil companies. While the US is yet to take a call, the European Union imposed a windfall tax on the company in Q4 which reduced its earnings by $1.3 billion. The Texas-based American company is currently suing European Union in a bid to block paying the tax. Read more: Energy giant ExxonMobil sues European Union in a bid to block new windfall tax Notably, windfall tax is designed to tax the profits a company makes from an unprecedented event. In this case, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in energy prices which has driven up Exxon's profit numbers. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

After Exxon posts record profits, White House calls it 'outrageous'

The United States oil giant, ExxonMobil Corp, has filed a lawsuit against the European Union in a bid to block the 27-nation bloc’s new windfall tax on oil and gas companies. This comes after the European Commission proposed to levy a windfall tax on the profits of energy producers at the General Court of the EU, in Luxembourg, on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The windfall tax is imposed on a firm which has benefitted from something they were not directly responsible for, in this case, it could be energy firms making profits for their products, partly due to the supply chain issues as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the company has argued that Brussels exceeded its legal authority by imposing the proposed tax and called it “counterproductive”.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/major-oil-companies-not-declaring-significant-source-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-report-520946">Major oil companies not declaring significant source of greenhouse gas emissions: Report</a>

The lawsuit also argues that the measure is a tax the right of which is reserved with the national governments and challenges the use of the EU Treaty’s Article 122, an emergency procedure that excludes the European Parliament, to enact the legislation. This also comes after the company as well as the oil sector has made record profits this year, due to high energy prices and soaring inflation across the world, which has renewed calls to impose additional taxes on the sector.&nbsp;

In October, ExxonMobil reported a quarterly profit of at least $20 billion. A month prior, the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan for oil, gas, and coal companies to pay what she called a “crisis contribution” on the increased profits this year. However, Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton, said that the move discourages investments and undermines investor confidence.&nbsp;

ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/europe-energy-crisis-dims-christmas-lights-defies-crisis-by-using-power-efficient-lights-537866">Europe: Energy crisis dims Christmas lights; defies crisis by using power efficient lights</a>

He added, “Whether we invest here primarily depends on how attractive and globally competitive Europe will be.” The lawsuit was first reported by Financial Times, on Wednesday, which was filed through the company’s subsidiaries in Germany and the Netherlands. In September, the EU countries passed an emergency package of legislation aimed at tackling soaring energy prices and a minimum 33 per cent tax which it referred to as the “crisis contribution”.&nbsp;

The relevant profits could be from fiscal years 2022 or 2023, depending on the country, said the EU. If passed, the windfall profit tax in question would cost at least $2 billion by the end of next year, said CFO Kathryn Mikells during a call with analysts, earlier this month, reported Reuters. The energy giant has also noted that they have invested $3 billion in the past decade in refinery projects in European countries.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/indian-oil-giant-ongc-partners-up-with-exxonmobil-for-deepwater-exploration-507906">Indian oil giant ONGC partners up with ExxonMobil for deepwater exploration</a>

In reference to these projects, Exxon believes&nbsp;they are helping deliver more energy products at a time when Europe struggles to reduce its imports from Russia. “We will continue to work with EU leaders to address these issues. Thoughtful policy is critical,” said the company. On the other hand, the European Commission has said that it has noted Exxon’s legal application and that decision is now up to the Luxembourg-based General Court, “to rule on this case”, reported the Financial Times.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

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The United States oil giant, ExxonMobil Corp, has filed a lawsuit against the European Union in a bid to block the 27-nation bloc’s new windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

The United States oil giant, ExxonMobil Corp, has filed a lawsuit against the European Union in a bid to block the 27-nation bloc’s new windfall tax on oil and gas companies. This comes after the European Commission proposed to levy a windfall tax on the profits of energy producers at the General Court of the EU, in Luxembourg, on Wednesday. The windfall tax is imposed on a firm which has benefitted from something they were not directly responsible for, in this case, it could be energy firms making profits for their products, partly due to the supply chain issues as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the company has argued that Brussels exceeded its legal authority by imposing the proposed tax and called it “counterproductive”. ALSO READ | Major oil companies not declaring significant source of greenhouse gas emissions: Report The lawsuit also argues that the measure is a tax the right of which is reserved with the national governments and challenges the use of the EU Treaty’s Article 122, an emergency procedure that excludes the European Parliament, to enact the legislation. This also comes after the company as well as the oil sector has made record profits this year, due to high energy prices and soaring inflation across the world, which has renewed calls to impose additional taxes on the sector. In October, ExxonMobil reported a quarterly profit of at least $20 billion. A month prior, the European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan for oil, gas, and coal companies to pay what she called a “crisis contribution” on the increased profits this year. However, Exxon spokesperson Casey Norton, said that the move discourages investments and undermines investor confidence. ALSO WATCH | Europe: Energy crisis dims Christmas lights; defies crisis by using power efficient lights He added, “Whether we invest here primarily depends on how attractive and globally competitive Europe will be.” The lawsuit was first reported by Financial Times, on Wednesday, which was filed through the company’s subsidiaries in Germany and the Netherlands. In September, the EU countries passed an emergency package of legislation aimed at tackling soaring energy prices and a minimum 33 per cent tax which it referred to as the “crisis contribution”. The relevant profits could be from fiscal years 2022 or 2023, depending on the country, said the EU. If passed, the windfall profit tax in question would cost at least $2 billion by the end of next year, said CFO Kathryn Mikells during a call with analysts, earlier this month, reported Reuters. The energy giant has also noted that they have invested $3 billion in the past decade in refinery projects in European countries. ALSO READ | Indian oil giant ONGC partners up with ExxonMobil for deepwater exploration In reference to these projects, Exxon believes they are helping deliver more energy products at a time when Europe struggles to reduce its imports from Russia. “We will continue to work with EU leaders to address these issues. Thoughtful policy is critical,” said the company. On the other hand, the European Commission has said that it has noted Exxon’s legal application and that decision is now up to the Luxembourg-based General Court, “to rule on this case”, reported the Financial Times. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Energy giant ExxonMobil sues European Union in a bid to block new windfall tax

U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) is suing the European Union in a bid to force it to scrap the bloc's new windfall tax on oil groups, arguing Brussels exceeded its legal authority by imposing the levy.

World Business Watch: Energy giant Exxon sues EU to block energy windfall tax

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Wednesday signed a deal with global oil major ExxonMobil Corp for deepwater exploration in India's eastern and western coasts.&nbsp;

The signing of the Heads of Agreement (HoA) ends ONGC's long-drawn search for a&nbsp;global oil major to partner with in an attempt&nbsp;to quickly monetise its reserves.

India's 53 per cent basin area is offshore. However, it requires sophisticated machinery and manpower to extract the oil from such difficult terrains. ONGC is a giant in the industry but still lags in technological prowess, which Exxon is expected to bring onto the table, under the new partnership.&nbsp;

According to the stock exchange filing, ONGC and&nbsp;ExxonMobil will put their attention on the deepwater reserves in India's&nbsp;East and West coasts.

"The collaboration areas focus on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery Basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore. There has been a scientific exchange of exploration data in the last few years, which has led to this partnership," read the statement.&nbsp;

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/indian-oil-corp-unit-to-open-50-fuel-stations-in-sri-lanka-to-battle-crisis-504839">Indian Oil Corp unit to open 50 fuel stations in Sri Lanka to battle crisis</a>

Meanwhile, ExxonMobil India in its statement said,&nbsp;“It’s an exciting opportunity to collaborate with ONGC. Great things happen when the right people collaborate." It added that 25 per cent of the ExxonMobil brain power is currently engaged in evaluating Indian deepwater. "ExxonMobil is geared up to take this collaboration to the next level.”

It is pertinent to note that India is the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil. More than 85 per cent of the country's oil demands are met by other countries, which puts a tremendous strain on the exchequer.

However, ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, India has been purchasing cheaper oil from Russia, much to the chagrin of the western world.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/why-oil-is-expensive-in-india-and-what-the-government-could-do-365515">Why oil is expensive in India, and what the government could do</a>

(With inputs from agencies) 
 
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&nbsp;

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Wednesday signed a deal with global oil major ExxonMobil Corp for deepwater exploration in India's eastern and western coasts.

India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Wednesday signed a deal with global oil major ExxonMobil Corp for deepwater exploration in India's eastern and western coasts. The signing of the Heads of Agreement (HoA) ends ONGC's long-drawn search for a global oil major to partner with in an attempt to quickly monetise its reserves. India's 53 per cent basin area is offshore. However, it requires sophisticated machinery and manpower to extract the oil from such difficult terrains. ONGC is a giant in the industry but still lags in technological prowess, which Exxon is expected to bring onto the table, under the new partnership. According to the stock exchange filing, ONGC and ExxonMobil will put their attention on the deepwater reserves in India's East and West coasts. "The collaboration areas focus on the Krishna Godavari and Cauvery Basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch-Mumbai region in the western offshore. There has been a scientific exchange of exploration data in the last few years, which has led to this partnership," read the statement. Read more: Indian Oil Corp unit to open 50 fuel stations in Sri Lanka to battle crisis Meanwhile, ExxonMobil India in its statement said, “It’s an exciting opportunity to collaborate with ONGC. Great things happen when the right people collaborate." It added that 25 per cent of the ExxonMobil brain power is currently engaged in evaluating Indian deepwater. "ExxonMobil is geared up to take this collaboration to the next level.” It is pertinent to note that India is the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil. More than 85 per cent of the country's oil demands are met by other countries, which puts a tremendous strain on the exchequer. However, ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, India has been purchasing cheaper oil from Russia, much to the chagrin of the western world. Read more: Why oil is expensive in India, and what the government could do (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Indian oil giant ONGC partners up with ExxonMobil for deepwater exploration

Legal &amp; General Investment Management, Britain’s biggest asset manager, said on Tuesday it would drop four companies from a number of its funds over their “insufficient” response to the challenge of climate change, including U.S. insurer AIG.

The others to be divested are Chinese lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, US&nbsp;utility holding company PPL Corporation and Chinese dairy products holding company China Mengniu Dairy.

All had either not responded adequately to corporate engagement or had breached LGIM's "red lines" around involvement in the coal sector, their carbon disclosures or their links to deforestation, the money manager said in a statement.

They join nine other companies previously excluded for similar failings by LGIM, which manages 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.7 trillion) in assets, including U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil and Korea Electric Power Corporation.

As part of its Climate Impact Pledge launched in 2018, LGIM, part of insurer Legal &amp; General, said the companies would be excluded from actively managed funds holding some 58 billion pounds in assets and all four would face voting sanctions using shares held across its entire equity book.

"We've been making consistent requests for a multi-year period ... (the companies are) really not meeting what we consider to be baseline minimum standard expectations in terms of climate change management across their sectors," said Yasmine Svan, Senior Sustainability Analyst at LGIM.

The exclusions follow a commitment by LGIM in October to expand the number of companies it engages with over climate change to 1,000 from 100.

That push was already starting to bear fruit, LGIM said on Tuesday, with 22% of the companies on its "priority" list now setting a target for net-zero carbon emissions.

During the current season for annual general meetings, LGIM said 130 companies would face votes against for not meeting its minimum climate change standards, mostly in the banking, insurance, real estate, tech and telecoms sectors.

As global policymakers gear up for the latest round of climate talks in Glasgow later this year, LGIM Chief Executive Michelle Scrimgeour said asset managers also needed to step up.

"Progress cannot be made by acting in isolation and we, as investors, have a real role to play in the responsible allocation of capital and acting as stewards to our investee companies to encourage greater progress to meet our overall sustainability goals."

Mengniu said that it "proactively supports the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and to lead the industry in carbon neutrality commitment with regular emission reduction targets and roadmap disclosure".

"In 2021, Mengniu will complete detailed carbon emission data accounting of its subsidiaries, formulate carbon emission reduction action targets and plans, and thus reduce product carbon footprints," the company said.

Legal & General Investment Management, Britain’s biggest asset manager, said on Tuesday it would drop four companies from a number of its funds over their “insufficient” response to the challenge of climate change, including U.

Legal & General Investment Management, Britain’s biggest asset manager, said on Tuesday it would drop four companies from a number of its funds over their “insufficient” response to the challenge of climate change, including U.S. insurer AIG. The others to be divested are Chinese lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, US utility holding company PPL Corporation and Chinese dairy products holding company China Mengniu Dairy. All had either not responded adequately to corporate engagement or had breached LGIM's "red lines" around involvement in the coal sector, their carbon disclosures or their links to deforestation, the money manager said in a statement. They join nine other companies previously excluded for similar failings by LGIM, which manages 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.7 trillion) in assets, including U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil and Korea Electric Power Corporation. As part of its Climate Impact Pledge launched in 2018, LGIM, part of insurer Legal & General, said the companies would be excluded from actively managed funds holding some 58 billion pounds in assets and all four would face voting sanctions using shares held across its entire equity book. "We've been making consistent requests for a multi-year period ... (the companies are) really not meeting what we consider to be baseline minimum standard expectations in terms of climate change management across their sectors," said Yasmine Svan, Senior Sustainability Analyst at LGIM. The exclusions follow a commitment by LGIM in October to expand the number of companies it engages with over climate change to 1,000 from 100. That push was already starting to bear fruit, LGIM said on Tuesday, with 22% of the companies on its "priority" list now setting a target for net-zero carbon emissions. During the current season for annual general meetings, LGIM said 130 companies would face votes against for not meeting its minimum climate change standards, mostly in the banking, insurance, real estate, tech and telecoms sectors. As global policymakers gear up for the latest round of climate talks in Glasgow later this year, LGIM Chief Executive Michelle Scrimgeour said asset managers also needed to step up. "Progress cannot be made by acting in isolation and we, as investors, have a real role to play in the responsible allocation of capital and acting as stewards to our investee companies to encourage greater progress to meet our overall sustainability goals." Mengniu said that it "proactively supports the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and to lead the industry in carbon neutrality commitment with regular emission reduction targets and roadmap disclosure". "In 2021, Mengniu will complete detailed carbon emission data accounting of its subsidiaries, formulate carbon emission reduction action targets and plans, and thus reduce product carbon footprints," the company said.

Britain’s biggest investor drops AIG, others from some funds over climate

Exxon Mobil Corp this week banned the use of vessels linked to oil flows from Venezuela in the last year, according to four people familiar with the matter, putting new pressure on the US sanctioned country and on global crude freight rates.

Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuela this year to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election has been dismissed by the United States and dozens of other countries as a sham. Some measures have led tanker operators to stop carrying oil for Venezuela's state-run PDVSA oil firm.

The decision by the world's largest publicly-traded oil producer to ban the Venezuela-linked tankers should affect about 250 vessels, two of the people familiar with the matter estimated.

Exxon declined to comment. PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Over 25 foreign vessels reach Venezuelan ports per month, according to PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon data. Some are known to turn their transponders off to avoid detection amid the tough US sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil industry.

Average freight earnings for supertankers on the closely-watched US-China route jumped over $20,000 on Friday to $87,625 a day, the highest level since rates for the route were first published in March, Baltic Exchange data showed.

"The VLCC pool here (in the Caribbean) has been very thin for some while, and this week rates pushed to levels not seen for many a year - $12 million now to the Far East and it's almost 'name your price,'" E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd said in a report on Friday.

Another shipbroker who declined to be identified to avoid upsetting clients said Exxon's directive may have a limited impact on freight rates. But he said those rates could go higher "if it spreads to other charterers beyond Exxon."

A lack of vessels willing to carry Venezuelan oil exports is hurting Cuba, the crisis-torn country's main political ally, which imposed fresh austerity measures last month due to power cuts and an acute shortage of fuel.

Exxon Mobil Corp this week banned the use of vessels linked to oil flows from Venezuela in the last year, according to four people familiar with the matter, putting new pressure on the US sanctioned country and on global crude freight rates.

Exxon Mobil Corp this week banned the use of vessels linked to oil flows from Venezuela in the last year, according to four people familiar with the matter, putting new pressure on the US sanctioned country and on global crude freight rates. Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Venezuela this year to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, whose 2018 re-election has been dismissed by the United States and dozens of other countries as a sham. Some measures have led tanker operators to stop carrying oil for Venezuela's state-run PDVSA oil firm. The decision by the world's largest publicly-traded oil producer to ban the Venezuela-linked tankers should affect about 250 vessels, two of the people familiar with the matter estimated. Exxon declined to comment. PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Over 25 foreign vessels reach Venezuelan ports per month, according to PDVSA and Refinitiv Eikon data. Some are known to turn their transponders off to avoid detection amid the tough US sanctions targeting Venezuela's oil industry. Average freight earnings for supertankers on the closely-watched US-China route jumped over $20,000 on Friday to $87,625 a day, the highest level since rates for the route were first published in March, Baltic Exchange data showed. "The VLCC pool here (in the Caribbean) has been very thin for some while, and this week rates pushed to levels not seen for many a year - $12 million now to the Far East and it's almost 'name your price,'" E.A. Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd said in a report on Friday. Another shipbroker who declined to be identified to avoid upsetting clients said Exxon's directive may have a limited impact on freight rates. But he said those rates could go higher "if it spreads to other charterers beyond Exxon." A lack of vessels willing to carry Venezuelan oil exports is hurting Cuba, the crisis-torn country's main political ally, which imposed fresh austerity measures last month due to power cuts and an acute shortage of fuel.

Exxon Mobil bars use of oil tankers linked to Venezuela: Report

Exxon Mobil's decision to evacuate its foreign staff from the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq on Saturday was "unacceptable and unjustified", Iraq's Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Sunday.

"The withdrawal of multiple employees - despite their small number - temporarily has nothing to do with the security situation or threats in the oilfields in of southern Iraq, but it's for political reasons," Ghadhban said in a statement.

Exxon Mobil, which has a long term contract to improve the oilfield on behalf of Iraq's state South Oil Company, withdrew all foreign staff, around 60 people, Iraqi officials have said.

The evacuation came just days after the United States withdrew non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, out of apparent concern about perceived threats from Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shi'ite militia.

Ghadhban said he sent a letter to Exxon Mobil asking for the company to immediately return to work at the southern oilfield, ahead of a meeting with company executives later this week.

Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work was continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, the chief of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company which owns the oil field, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Saturday. He added that production remains at 440,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Exxon Mobil's decision to evacuate its foreign staff from the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq on Saturday was "unacceptable and unjustified", Iraq's Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Sunday.

Exxon Mobil's decision to evacuate its foreign staff from the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq on Saturday was "unacceptable and unjustified", Iraq's Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Sunday. "The withdrawal of multiple employees - despite their small number - temporarily has nothing to do with the security situation or threats in the oilfields in of southern Iraq, but it's for political reasons," Ghadhban said in a statement. Exxon Mobil, which has a long term contract to improve the oilfield on behalf of Iraq's state South Oil Company, withdrew all foreign staff, around 60 people, Iraqi officials have said. The evacuation came just days after the United States withdrew non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad, out of apparent concern about perceived threats from Iran, which has close ties to Iraqi Shi'ite militia. Ghadhban said he sent a letter to Exxon Mobil asking for the company to immediately return to work at the southern oilfield, ahead of a meeting with company executives later this week. Production at the oilfield was not affected by the evacuation and work was continuing normally, overseen by Iraqi engineers, the chief of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company which owns the oil field, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Saturday. He added that production remains at 440,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Iraq oil minister says Exxon Mobil evacuation of foreign staff 'unacceptable and unjustified'

When the global oil trading industry gathered for its biggest annual meeting in Asia in September last year, US oil producing companies came well prepared.

US giant Exxon Mobil and European rival Royal Dutch/Shell prepared brochures for oil buyers detailing various US crude grades and why they were suitable to replace part of Asia's long-standing supplies from the Middle East, Africa and Russia.

As the oil industry gathers in London this month for the annual IP Week, US crude producers may have every reason to toast the success of their campaign in Europe, as well as Asia.

Only a few years ago, before the hydro-fracking and shale revolution overturned the economics of US oil production, the United States was the world's largest oil importer by far and prohibited exports of oil by law.

Now shipments of US crude into Europe have just hit a new record. January imports were 630,000 barrels per day, still - behind Russia and Iraq but above other OPEC producers including Nigeria and Libya.

Higher US crude exports have been helped by lower supplies of Iranian and Venezuelan crude, which Washington has put under sanctions, scaring buyers across the world.

In the whole of 2018, US supplies to Europe doubled to 430,000 bpd, according to Refinitiv Eikon flows data. That represented 6 per cent of overall imports or equal to the levels of Iranian oil imports to Europe before the United States imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran.

"US crude is a real headache. It puts a lot of pressure on regional light grades. In fact, prices for all grades are affected because it is such a significant extra supply," said a trader with a European trader selling Russian oil.

Pressure will likely only increase as for 2019 US crude oil production is expected to average 12.06 million bpd, up 1.18 million bpd from last year, according to US government.

Future predictions say the United States could produce as much as 15 million bpd of crude and up to 20 million bpd of total oil liquids, giving it complete self-sufficiency as it would fully cover its consumption of 18-19 million bpd.

Booming US production has prompted OPEC and major non-OPEC producers like Russia to slash output by 3-4 per cent since 2017 to prop up prices. The pact has helped double prices to $60 per barrel but at the expense of a market share loss to US firms.

"Welcome to the free market," said a US-based executive of an international trading firm. "Local producers either need to drop their pricing to compete or find other markets".

Competition is particularly acute in northwest Europe, where Britain and the Netherlands imported 6.5 and 5.1 million tonnes of US crude in 2018 respectively.

BP, Litasco, Equinor, Total and ExxonMobil were among the main buyers in the Baltic replacing North Sea barrels with US grades, traders say.

"WTI is the new dated Brent," said a senior crude trader referring to the US and European benchmarks.

BP takes US oil to its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany while Poland's PKN Orlen said in January it would cut Russia's Urals purchases from Kremlin oil major Rosneft by 30 per cent and partially replace it with US barrels. In Britain, the main US oil buyers are Essar Oil and Exxon Mobil, traders said.

In the Mediterranean, buyers of US barrels - Italy, Spain, France - tend to use them to replace light Caspian CPC Blend, Russia's Urals and Iranian oil, traders said.

Greece's Hellenic Petroleum added WTI to its list of preferred crude options alongside Urals and CPC as did Turkey's Tupras. In Italy, US oil flows to Kuwait Petroleum's Milazzo refinery and the Swiss Varo Energy's plant.

WTI was by far the most popular US grade among European buyers in 2018, followed by Midland Eagle Ford, Bakken and Mars.

As the world moves to tighter marine fuel regulations, which will increase demand for light barrels, demand for US oil - which is predominantly light - will only rise.

"I expect US crude to become even more popular in Europe. It seems that whatever is happening to oil markets these days, the US benefits," said a trader with large European major.

When the global oil trading industry gathered for its biggest annual meeting in Asia in September last year, US oil producing companies came well prepared. US giant Exxon Mobil and European rival Royal Dutch/Shell prepared brochures for oil buyers detailing various US crude grades and why they were suitable to replace part of Asia's long-standing supplies from the Middle East, Africa and Russia.

When the global oil trading industry gathered for its biggest annual meeting in Asia in September last year, US oil producing companies came well prepared. US giant Exxon Mobil and European rival Royal Dutch/Shell prepared brochures for oil buyers detailing various US crude grades and why they were suitable to replace part of Asia's long-standing supplies from the Middle East, Africa and Russia. As the oil industry gathers in London this month for the annual IP Week, US crude producers may have every reason to toast the success of their campaign in Europe, as well as Asia. Only a few years ago, before the hydro-fracking and shale revolution overturned the economics of US oil production, the United States was the world's largest oil importer by far and prohibited exports of oil by law. Now shipments of US crude into Europe have just hit a new record. January imports were 630,000 barrels per day, still - behind Russia and Iraq but above other OPEC producers including Nigeria and Libya. Higher US crude exports have been helped by lower supplies of Iranian and Venezuelan crude, which Washington has put under sanctions, scaring buyers across the world. In the whole of 2018, US supplies to Europe doubled to 430,000 bpd, according to Refinitiv Eikon flows data. That represented 6 per cent of overall imports or equal to the levels of Iranian oil imports to Europe before the United States imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran. "US crude is a real headache. It puts a lot of pressure on regional light grades. In fact, prices for all grades are affected because it is such a significant extra supply," said a trader with a European trader selling Russian oil. Pressure will likely only increase as for 2019 US crude oil production is expected to average 12.06 million bpd, up 1.18 million bpd from last year, according to US government. Future predictions say the United States could produce as much as 15 million bpd of crude and up to 20 million bpd of total oil liquids, giving it complete self-sufficiency as it would fully cover its consumption of 18-19 million bpd. Booming US production has prompted OPEC and major non-OPEC producers like Russia to slash output by 3-4 per cent since 2017 to prop up prices. The pact has helped double prices to $60 per barrel but at the expense of a market share loss to US firms. "Welcome to the free market," said a US-based executive of an international trading firm. "Local producers either need to drop their pricing to compete or find other markets". Competition is particularly acute in northwest Europe, where Britain and the Netherlands imported 6.5 and 5.1 million tonnes of US crude in 2018 respectively. BP, Litasco, Equinor, Total and ExxonMobil were among the main buyers in the Baltic replacing North Sea barrels with US grades, traders say. "WTI is the new dated Brent," said a senior crude trader referring to the US and European benchmarks. BP takes US oil to its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany while Poland's PKN Orlen said in January it would cut Russia's Urals purchases from Kremlin oil major Rosneft by 30 per cent and partially replace it with US barrels. In Britain, the main US oil buyers are Essar Oil and Exxon Mobil, traders said. In the Mediterranean, buyers of US barrels - Italy, Spain, France - tend to use them to replace light Caspian CPC Blend, Russia's Urals and Iranian oil, traders said. Greece's Hellenic Petroleum added WTI to its list of preferred crude options alongside Urals and CPC as did Turkey's Tupras. In Italy, US oil flows to Kuwait Petroleum's Milazzo refinery and the Swiss Varo Energy's plant. WTI was by far the most popular US grade among European buyers in 2018, followed by Midland Eagle Ford, Bakken and Mars. As the world moves to tighter marine fuel regulations, which will increase demand for light barrels, demand for US oil - which is predominantly light - will only rise. "I expect US crude to become even more popular in Europe. It seems that whatever is happening to oil markets these days, the US benefits," said a trader with large European major.

With Iran squeezed out, US oil takes on new rivals in Europe

Rex Tillerson was named in a tax haven leak as the long-time&nbsp;director of a Bahamas-based US-Russian oil company,<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/18/leak-rex-tillerson-director-bahamas-based-us-russian-oil-company"> The Guardian</a> reports.

Tillerson is currently the chief executive of ExxonMobil, but&nbsp;in 1998 he became the director of their Russian subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas, The Guardian reports. His name, &quot;RW&quot;, appears next to officers based at Houston, Texas, in Moscow, and in the far east of Russia in Sakhalin.

The leaked document comes from the corporate registry in the Bahamas,&nbsp;one of the 1.3 million files given to the German newspaper S<a data-link-name="in body link" draggable="true" href="http://www.sueddeutsche.de/">&uuml;</a>ddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source, The Guardian reports.

There&#39;s nothing illegal about Tillerson&#39;s previous appointment, but it raises questions over his&nbsp;Russian ties, and is just one more major thing connecting Donald Trump to Russia.&nbsp;

Exxon Mobil is the world&#39;s largest oil company, and for years have been looking towards Russia&#39;s vast deposits of natural resources.

&nbsp;

Conflict of Interest?

On Sunday, Exxon said Tillerson was no longer the director of Exxon Neftegas after becoming CEO in 2006, The Guardian reports.&nbsp;But he has since been linked to&nbsp;Russia in other ways.

Vladimir Putin&nbsp;awarded Tillerson the Russian Order of Friendship in 2013, and is close with Igor Sechin, who The Guardian characterises as&nbsp;a &quot;hardliner&quot; and&nbsp;ex-KGB (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti--the&nbsp;secret police in the former Soviet Union) member who is the second most powerful person inside the Kremlin.

In 2011, ExxonMobil and Russia&#39;s state oil company Rosneft made a deal to explore the Kara Sea in Russia&#39;s Arctic, The Guardian reports.&nbsp;

The deal was shelved due to the sanctions imposed after Russia annexed&nbsp;the eastern Ukrainian state of Crimea.&nbsp;American firms are banned from sharing technology related to the oil industry under the sanctions, and Exxon was suppsed to stop drilling, but the company pleaded successfully for the ban to be delayed by a few weeks, and in this time discovered 750 million barrels of new oil, The Guardian reports.&nbsp;

<aside data-component="rich-link" data-link-name="rich-link-3 | 2">
Tillerson criticised US government policy, saying in 2014 at Exxon&#39;s annual meeting that &quot;we do not support sanctions&quot;, The Guardian reports.

&nbsp;
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GjpGfjzheeo" width="560"></iframe>

&nbsp;

During the election, Trump expressed certainty,&nbsp;promising&nbsp;that Russia would never enter&nbsp;Crimea, seemingly unaware that it had already happened. Then Trump claimed without evidence&nbsp;that Crimeans prefer to be a part of Russia.

When asked this year by German reporter Mareike Aden whether Trump as president would recognise Crimea and lift sanctions imposed against Moscow, <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/07/trump-crimea/493280/">he responded</a> &quot;Yes. We would be looking at that&quot;.

Investors widely assume that the new Trump administration will drop sanctions, allowing the drilling deal between Exxon Mobil and Rosneft to continue, which is expected to increase the prices of Exxon shares by tens of billions of dollars, The Guardian reports.&nbsp;

They also report that Tillerson&#39;s currently owns $218 million worth of ExxonMobil stock, and has a pension valued at $70 million.

&nbsp;

Some of Trump&#39;s Russian ties

Donald Trump has called on Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton&#39;s emails. It is thought that no presidential candidate has ever openly called on a foreign country to sabotage&nbsp;a rival politician. Reuters cites two government sources as saying that&nbsp;American intelligence agencies--the CIA (central intelligence agencies)&nbsp;and FBI (federal bureau of investigation)--both agree that the Russian hacks were aimed at helping Trump win the election.

Trump complained loudly and repeatedly that the US election was rigged before he won it, but has since dismissed claims that his win was anything but pure. Trump has called the effort to ensure the election recount in different states &quot;<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/26/politics/clinton-campaign-recount/">a scam&quot;.</a>

While US policy under Obama has been to isolate Russia in response to invading Crimea and for supporting the Assad regime in Syria, Trump has<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/28/politics/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-quotes/"> praised Putin for years</a>.

Trump has even defended Putin from the charge that the Russian president has ordered the killing of journalists, saying &quot;He&#39;s running his country, and at least he&#39;s a leader, unlike what we have in this country. I think our country does plenty of killing also...&quot;.

Currently, Russia ranks 180 out of 199 countries for press freedom, behind Iraq, the Demoratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2016/jan/04/does-vladimir-putin-kill-journalists/">Politifact reports</a>. Since Putin was elected&nbsp;president in 2000, authorities raided a major television network&nbsp;and arrested the&nbsp;owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, for fraud, releasing him only after he agreed to sell his company&nbsp;to state media, Politifact reports.

As many as&nbsp;34&nbsp;journalists have been murdered in the country under Putin, Politifact reports. This number could be higher does not include journalists killed while reporting on something dangerous, like war or riots, or where the motives of the murder are unclear. In the same amount of time, three journalists were killed in the US.

<a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2016/jan/04/does-vladimir-putin-kill-journalists/">Politifact quotes</a> Nina Ognianova, the coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists&#39; Europe and Central Asia program, who said journalists covering corruption, human rights abuses, organised crime and official wrongdoing can be &quot;slain with impunity in Putin&#39;s Russia&quot;.

Trump&#39;s decision to appoint Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, despite Tillerson&#39;s&nbsp;total lack of political experience, is only his&nbsp;latest&nbsp;Russian connection and will surely&nbsp;receive further scrutiny.

(WION)
&nbsp;

&nbsp;
</aside>

Rex Tillerson, non-partisan critics worry, has many serious ties to Russia. This latest connection only raises more questions

Rex Tillerson was named in a tax haven leak as the long-time director of a Bahamas-based US-Russian oil company, The Guardian reports. Tillerson is currently the chief executive of ExxonMobil, but in 1998 he became the director of their Russian subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas, The Guardian reports. His name, "RW", appears next to officers based at Houston, Texas, in Moscow, and in the far east of Russia in Sakhalin. The leaked document comes from the corporate registry in the Bahamas, one of the 1.3 million files given to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source, The Guardian reports. There's nothing illegal about Tillerson's previous appointment, but it raises questions over his Russian ties, and is just one more major thing connecting Donald Trump to Russia. Exxon Mobil is the world's largest oil company, and for years have been looking towards Russia's vast deposits of natural resources. Conflict of Interest? On Sunday, Exxon said Tillerson was no longer the director of Exxon Neftegas after becoming CEO in 2006, The Guardian reports. But he has since been linked to Russia in other ways. Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the Russian Order of Friendship in 2013, and is close with Igor Sechin, who The Guardian characterises as a "hardliner" and ex-KGB (Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti--the secret police in the former Soviet Union) member who is the second most powerful person inside the Kremlin. In 2011, ExxonMobil and Russia's state oil company Rosneft made a deal to explore the Kara Sea in Russia's Arctic, The Guardian reports. The deal was shelved due to the sanctions imposed after Russia annexed the eastern Ukrainian state of Crimea. American firms are banned from sharing technology related to the oil industry under the sanctions, and Exxon was suppsed to stop drilling, but the company pleaded successfully for the ban to be delayed by a few weeks, and in this time discovered 750 million barrels of new oil, The Guardian reports. Tillerson criticised US government policy, saying in 2014 at Exxon's annual meeting that "we do not support sanctions", The Guardian reports. During the election, Trump expressed certainty, promising that Russia would never enter Crimea, seemingly unaware that it had already happened. Then Trump claimed without evidence that Crimeans prefer to be a part of Russia. When asked this year by German reporter Mareike Aden whether Trump as president would recognise Crimea and lift sanctions imposed against Moscow, he responded "Yes. We would be looking at that". Investors widely assume that the new Trump administration will drop sanctions, allowing the drilling deal between Exxon Mobil and Rosneft to continue, which is expected to increase the prices of Exxon shares by tens of billions of dollars, The Guardian reports. They also report that Tillerson's currently owns $218 million worth of ExxonMobil stock, and has a pension valued at $70 million. Some of Trump's Russian ties Donald Trump has called on Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton's emails. It is thought that no presidential candidate has ever openly called on a foreign country to sabotage a rival politician. Reuters cites two government sources as saying that American intelligence agencies--the CIA (central intelligence agencies) and FBI (federal bureau of investigation)--both agree that the Russian hacks were aimed at helping Trump win the election. Trump complained loudly and repeatedly that the US election was rigged before he won it, but has since dismissed claims that his win was anything but pure. Trump has called the effort to ensure the election recount in different states "a scam". While US policy under Obama has been to isolate Russia in response to invading Crimea and for supporting the Assad regime in Syria, Trump has praised Putin for years. Trump has even defended Putin from the charge that the Russian president has ordered the killing of journalists, saying "He's running his country, and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country. I think our country does plenty of killing also...". Currently, Russia ranks 180 out of 199 countries for press freedom, behind Iraq, the Demoratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, Politifact reports. Since Putin was elected president in 2000, authorities raided a major television network and arrested the owner, Vladimir Gusinsky, for fraud, releasing him only after he agreed to sell his company to state media, Politifact reports. As many as 34 journalists have been murdered in the country under Putin, Politifact reports. This number could be higher does not include journalists killed while reporting on something dangerous, like war or riots, or where the motives of the murder are unclear. In the same amount of time, three journalists were killed in the US. Politifact quotes Nina Ognianova, the coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists' Europe and Central Asia program, who said journalists covering corruption, human rights abuses, organised crime and official wrongdoing can be "slain with impunity in Putin's Russia". Trump's decision to appoint Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, despite Tillerson's total lack of political experience, is only his latest Russian connection and will surely receive further scrutiny. (WION)

Trump's State Secretary pick directed US-Russian oil company, leak reveals

United States President-elect Donald Trump is likely to pick&nbsp;Exxon Mobil Corp CEO Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, according to media reports.

Tillerson&#39;s nomination will come under close scrutiny due to his close ties with Russia.

Although Tillerson is in the inside lane to become the next Secretary of State, transition officials said Trump is yet to make up his mind.

However, in a televised interview that is to be aired tonight, Trump said: &quot;&quot;He&#39;s more than a business executive; he&#39;s a world-class player. He&#39;s in charge of I guess the largest company in the world,&quot; Trump told Fox News according to the excerpts released yesterday. 
 
&quot;To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company not for himself, for the company,&quot; he added.

Already, two leading Republican hawks, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have voiced concerns about Tillerson&#39;s serving as the nation&#39;s top diplomat because of his ties to Putin, the daily said. 
 
NBC News which first reported about it said that Tillerson would be joined by the former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, as the Deputy Secretary of State, who would be responsible for the day to day management of the State Department. 
 
Tillerson met Trump at Trump Tower in New York City yesterday. He emerged as Trump&#39;s leading candidate for Secretary of State over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people. 
 
In a statement, the Democratic National Committee communications director Adam Hodge said Trump&#39;s &quot;outrageous pick&quot; of Tillerson to be Secretary of State demonstrates once again that he lied to the country about draining the swamp, and he&#39;s turning the government over to the same Wall Street bankers, Washington insiders and special interests he railed against during the campaign. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s also another victory for Vladimir Putin, who interfered in our election to help elect Trump and now has a close ally with no foreign policy experience serving as America&#39;s top diplomat,&quot; he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Rex Tillerson's nomination could face intense scrutiny in the Senate due to the oil executive's close ties with Russia

United States President-elect Donald Trump is likely to pick Exxon Mobil Corp CEO Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State, according to media reports. Tillerson's nomination will come under close scrutiny due to his close ties with Russia. Although Tillerson is in the inside lane to become the next Secretary of State, transition officials said Trump is yet to make up his mind. However, in a televised interview that is to be aired tonight, Trump said: ""He's more than a business executive; he's a world-class player. He's in charge of I guess the largest company in the world," Trump told Fox News according to the excerpts released yesterday. "To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players, and he knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company not for himself, for the company," he added. Already, two leading Republican hawks, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have voiced concerns about Tillerson's serving as the nation's top diplomat because of his ties to Putin, the daily said. NBC News which first reported about it said that Tillerson would be joined by the former US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, as the Deputy Secretary of State, who would be responsible for the day to day management of the State Department. Tillerson met Trump at Trump Tower in New York City yesterday. He emerged as Trump's leading candidate for Secretary of State over 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and three other people. In a statement, the Democratic National Committee communications director Adam Hodge said Trump's "outrageous pick" of Tillerson to be Secretary of State demonstrates once again that he lied to the country about draining the swamp, and he's turning the government over to the same Wall Street bankers, Washington insiders and special interests he railed against during the campaign. "It's also another victory for Vladimir Putin, who interfered in our election to help elect Trump and now has a close ally with no foreign policy experience serving as America's top diplomat," he said. (With inputs from PTI)

Trump likely to pick Exxon Mobil CEO as Secretary of State

Royal Dutch Shell and BP on Tuesday joined peers in reporting higher than expected earnings by making further deep cuts in spending to cope with an oil price downturn now in its third year.

The companies said they were well on the way to adapting to the more than halving in prices. But any new sharper downturn would test their ability to invest for growth and retain the relatively large dividends their shareholders expect.

Shell&#39;s stock rose by over 4 per cent as it announced higher quarterly earnings than arch-rival US&nbsp;Exxon Mobil, the world&#39;s largest listed oil company by output and market capitalisation.

The Anglo-Dutch major, which acquired rival BG for $54 billion earlier this year, had been under pressure to cut costs after second quarter earnings came in around 50 per cent below forecasts.

By contrast, BP&#39;s stock fell by more than 4 per cent by 1610 GMT as some analysts said its results were boosted by a one-off tax gain, meaning its longer-term profits and ability to pay dividends could still be at risk. The oil price was trading flat on the day at around $49 a barrel.

Shell&#39;s Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said the oil sector had yet to emerge from troubled waters, but huge cost savings meant oil majors were getting closer to balancing their operations at today&#39;s oil prices of around $50 a barrel.

The prospects for an oil price recovery are still unclear, van Beurden said, despite attempts by OPEC and other producers to agree a deal to limit output and reduce the global glut which has pushed oil prices down by 50 per cent since June 2014.

&quot;Lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business, and the outlook remains uncertain,&quot; van Beurden said.

Future focus

The world&#39;s top oil and gas companies, including Exxon and Chevron, reported sharp drops in quarterly results last week due to lower oil prices and weaker refining margins.

But at the same time, most have shown they were adjusting to the new environment, with both Exxon and Chevron also beating earnings expectations. Chevron plans to focus future growth on U.S. onshore shale production, where investments are smaller and production starts faster compared to large offshore projects.

Shell also sees shale production as a key future growth engine. Its Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said the oil-rich Permian Basin in West Texas was a &quot;crown jewel&quot;.

Exxon warned it may need to slash proved oil and gas reserves on its books by nearly 20 per cent, or some 4.6 billion barrels, if oil prices stay low for the rest of 2016.

French oil major Total also beat third quarter income expectations helped by cost cuts and new projects and only smaller rivals Norway&#39;s Statoil and Italy&#39;s ENI missed expectations due to lower-than-expected output. BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said the British company was on track to rebalance cash flows next year at $50 to $55 a barrel and its future focus areas would include Russia and areas where it could bring technology to bear.

&quot;This allow us to sustain our dividend whilst still investing enough to grow long term,&quot; he said.

In 2014, the world&#39;s top oil companies required an oil price of $113 a barrel in order to cover their spending and dividends, according to Jefferies analysts. The breakeven dropped to around $60 a barrel in 2016 and is expected to hover at around $50 a barrel next year.

BP benefited from UK fiscal regime changes, resulting an a $164 million tax credit in the third quarter, compared with a $1.16 billion tax bill in the same quarter last year.

&quot;Despite mixed numbers and a modest increase in gearing, the overall trend in cost and capex savings and cash flows at BP continues to head in the right direction,&quot; analysts from Morgan Stanley said in a note.

BP reported a near halving in third-quarter earnings and slashed another $1 billion from its 2016 investment plan, while Shell saw an 18 per cent rise in profits and lowered next year&#39;s capital spending to the bottom of the expected range.

Both Shell and BP maintained their dividends unchanged as expected.

At $2.8 billion in the third quarter, Shell&#39;s net income was above Exxon&#39;s third quarter net income of $2.65 billion.

Exxon has not made a big acquisition for more than 5 years but it is still worth more than Shell - its market cap was $345 billion as of Tuesday while Shell was worth $205 billion.

As well as slashing spending, oil companies have scrapped new projects, cut tens of thousands of jobs, renegotiated supply contracts and increased borrowing since prices began a sustained fall in June 2014.

All the majors apart from Eni have maintained or increased their dividends throughout the downturn to retain shareholder loyalty. Shell has not cut its dividend since World War Two.

(Reuters)

Shell's stock rose by over 4 per cent as it announced higher quarterly earnings than arch-rival US Exxon Mobil

Royal Dutch Shell and BP on Tuesday joined peers in reporting higher than expected earnings by making further deep cuts in spending to cope with an oil price downturn now in its third year. The companies said they were well on the way to adapting to the more than halving in prices. But any new sharper downturn would test their ability to invest for growth and retain the relatively large dividends their shareholders expect. Shell's stock rose by over 4 per cent as it announced higher quarterly earnings than arch-rival US Exxon Mobil, the world's largest listed oil company by output and market capitalisation. The Anglo-Dutch major, which acquired rival BG for $54 billion earlier this year, had been under pressure to cut costs after second quarter earnings came in around 50 per cent below forecasts. By contrast, BP's stock fell by more than 4 per cent by 1610 GMT as some analysts said its results were boosted by a one-off tax gain, meaning its longer-term profits and ability to pay dividends could still be at risk. The oil price was trading flat on the day at around $49 a barrel. Shell's Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said the oil sector had yet to emerge from troubled waters, but huge cost savings meant oil majors were getting closer to balancing their operations at today's oil prices of around $50 a barrel. The prospects for an oil price recovery are still unclear, van Beurden said, despite attempts by OPEC and other producers to agree a deal to limit output and reduce the global glut which has pushed oil prices down by 50 per cent since June 2014. "Lower oil prices continue to be a significant challenge across the business, and the outlook remains uncertain," van Beurden said. Future focus The world's top oil and gas companies, including Exxon and Chevron, reported sharp drops in quarterly results last week due to lower oil prices and weaker refining margins. But at the same time, most have shown they were adjusting to the new environment, with both Exxon and Chevron also beating earnings expectations. Chevron plans to focus future growth on U.S. onshore shale production, where investments are smaller and production starts faster compared to large offshore projects. Shell also sees shale production as a key future growth engine. Its Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said the oil-rich Permian Basin in West Texas was a "crown jewel". Exxon warned it may need to slash proved oil and gas reserves on its books by nearly 20 per cent, or some 4.6 billion barrels, if oil prices stay low for the rest of 2016. French oil major Total also beat third quarter income expectations helped by cost cuts and new projects and only smaller rivals Norway's Statoil and Italy's ENI missed expectations due to lower-than-expected output. BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said the British company was on track to rebalance cash flows next year at $50 to $55 a barrel and its future focus areas would include Russia and areas where it could bring technology to bear. "This allow us to sustain our dividend whilst still investing enough to grow long term," he said. In 2014, the world's top oil companies required an oil price of $113 a barrel in order to cover their spending and dividends, according to Jefferies analysts. The breakeven dropped to around $60 a barrel in 2016 and is expected to hover at around $50 a barrel next year. BP benefited from UK fiscal regime changes, resulting an a $164 million tax credit in the third quarter, compared with a $1.16 billion tax bill in the same quarter last year. "Despite mixed numbers and a modest increase in gearing, the overall trend in cost and capex savings and cash flows at BP continues to head in the right direction," analysts from Morgan Stanley said in a note. BP reported a near halving in third-quarter earnings and slashed another $1 billion from its 2016 investment plan, while Shell saw an 18 per cent rise in profits and lowered next year's capital spending to the bottom of the expected range. Both Shell and BP maintained their dividends unchanged as expected. At $2.8 billion in the third quarter, Shell's net income was above Exxon's third quarter net income of $2.65 billion. Exxon has not made a big acquisition for more than 5 years but it is still worth more than Shell - its market cap was $345 billion as of Tuesday while Shell was worth $205 billion. As well as slashing spending, oil companies have scrapped new projects, cut tens of thousands of jobs, renegotiated supply contracts and increased borrowing since prices began a sustained fall in June 2014. All the majors apart from Eni have maintained or increased their dividends throughout the downturn to retain shareholder loyalty. Shell has not cut its dividend since World War Two. (Reuters)

Shell takes top earnings spot from Exxon as oil majors adapt to low prices

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