The documents – many of which are copies of internal emails between oil company officials – describe ExxonMobil’s efforts in 2021 to persuade major industrial companies and oil giants to co-sponsor a gigantic carbon capture project in Texas. Elsewhere, in a chain of emails, company officials discuss whether BP, Shell and TotalEnergies – a French oil company – increased their carbon footprint by selling Canadian interests in the oil sands to others. eager investors.
Big oil companies have been criticized for selling off tar sands properties to smaller companies, redistributing responsibility for carbon dioxide. In response to this criticism, one executive said, “What exactly are we supposed to do instead of divesting it… pour concrete on the tar sands and burn the deed so no one can buy it?
Scientists say the world must quickly switch from fossil fuels to prevent the worst expected effects of climate change, a position shared by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
For more than a year, the The committee investigated a handful of major oil companies, as well as two of Washington’s largest trade groups, the American Petroleum Institute and the US Chamber of Commerce. The survey sought records of industry campaigns to influence public opinion and policy on climate change.
The committee says industry is misleading the public by announcing a commitment to cleaner energy even as it invests disproportionately in fossil fuels. In a previous release of documents on September 14, the committee accused the oil companies of continued deception, following earlier revelations about oil companies working to undermine the credibility of climate science.
“Rather than outright denial of global warming, the fossil fuel industry has ‘greened’ its track record through misleading advertisements and climate promises – without significantly reducing emissions,” the committee said in a memo.
Each company in the report — including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell in addition to the American Petroleum Institute — was asked by the committee to provide about 15 to 30 documents.
Among the biggest issues was ExxonMobil’s effort to rally support for what it said would be a $100 billion carbon capture project south of Houston. ExxonMobil was told by potential partners that they would only join other companies “with reputable climate credentials and name recognition.”
“Chevron considers Exxon’s numbers related to tonnes stored, jobs saved, jobs created to be inflated – but harmless inflation,” said an email about Exxon’s proposal. “Chevron is internally divided on the Houston-centric theme – but sees it as a small-stakes concern. Mild unease in parts of Chevron over Exxon’s reputational issues.
Many companies have balked at the Houston project, although more than a dozen currently support the proposal. ExxonMobil still views the federal government as a potential source of cost-cutting tax credits. Tax credits have been significantly expanded under the recent Inflation Reduction Act.
The documents also detail a 2017 spat between Shell’s outgoing chief executive Ben van Beurden and Fred Krupp, the chairman of the Environmental Defense Fund, an advocacy organization. Krupp had said that methane releases throughout the natural gas supply chain made it as bad an energy source as coal from a greenhouse gas perspective.
“I was extremely disappointed with his poor service to the good efforts that we should basically stick together,” van Beurden said of Krupp. He said the EDF chairman’s comments “went a bit too far for me”.
The documents obtained by The Post are just part of those the House committee is expected to release on Friday in further condemnation of what it calls “greenwashing” of the oil industry.
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