Exxon CEO Expects Long-term Role for Oil and Gas

Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods says Oil and Gas will remain essential for decades, even as global energy systems evolve. His perspective highlights the continued relevance of Oil and Gas investing and the long-term role hydrocarbons will play across multiple industries. Oil and Gas investors can learn more by reading the full article shared below.

SAO PAULO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Oil and gas will play a critical role for a long time to come, Exxon Mobil. CEO Darren Woods said on Friday, adding that the question was whether they will continue to be used as fuel.

While future technological breakthroughs might see a change in the burning of hydrocarbons, they will continue to be used for other purposes, such as in the medical sector, Woods said.

"Crude oil and hydrocarbons are going to play a critical role in everybody's life for a long time to come," said Woods.

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels such as oil and gas, but also coal, are a major contributor to climate change.

"The question is, do you continue to combust them? And that, I think, will change with time, depending on how technology develops," Woods told Reuters on the sidelines of the Sustainable Innovation Forum in Sao Paulo.

CLIMATE SUMMIT TO KICK OFF

Brazil is hosting the United Nations COP30 climate conference in the city of Belem starting on Monday.

Earlier this week, the UN said the world would overshoot its goal of keeping global warming below the 1.5 degrees Celsius target set at the Paris climate conference in 2015.

Woods said policymakers are making decisions without the full picture, adding that effective carbon accounting was needed to properly track emissions.

"Without a mechanism to accurately account for the carbon that's being emitted across economies, net zero is just a slogan," Woods said.

"You have to actually understand where the emissions are coming from and have a ledger-based system that gives credibility to those emissions as they occur along a value chain," he added.

Woods also said he feels good about the potential involved in the company’s return to Iraq. The company signed a preliminary agreement with the country to manage, develop, and operate the Majnoon oil field in southern Iraq.

Exxon needs to ensure the investment is favorable and negotiate with Iraq's government to make sure it's a win-win proposition, Woods said, adding that the process was in early stages.

Source: 

Griffin, Oliver. “Exxon CEO Expects Long-Term Role for Oil and Gas, Maybe Not as Fuel | Reuters.” Exxon CEO Expects Long-Term Role for Oil and Gas, Maybe Not as Fuel, 7 Nov. 2025, www.reuters.com/business/energy/exxon-ceo-expects-long-term-role-oil-gas-maybe-not-fuel-2025-11-07/.