Jounalizing Oil & Gas: Why ExxonMobil supports carbon pricing

Journalism 101: Verify your sources
“If your mother says she loves you, don’t believe it unless you can get confirmation from at least two independent sources.”

Reading press releases is a good way to become aware of new developments in your field of interest. But it is helpful to take a skeptical approach to whatever any given press release is touting.

Professional journalists do this. So can you.

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There's "no other job where you get paid to tell the truth...we are detectives for the people." The late, great investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, in his last column for the Village Voice.
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You don’t have to be a journalist to benefit from journalism’s method of getting at the truth of statements made in press releases.

To illustrate, consider the following ExxonMobil Blog post …

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ExxonMobil Blog: EnergyFactor (03.29.2021)
Why ExxonMobil supports carbon pricing
Darren Woods

The recent steps by the American Petroleum Institute (API) to support a carbon price will contribute to advancing a lower-carbon future. For some time, we have been encouraging trade associations to support a price on carbon and promote actions that enable the goals of the Paris Agreement. We encourage Congress to adopt this market-based, national policy solution.

To better understand the steps needed to help realize a lower-carbon future, it’s helpful to begin with some important context: the world’s growing need for energy.

Underpinning future energy demand is economic growth driven by an increasing population and growing prosperity. The continuing demand for our products is concentrated in three growing sectors: power generation, industrial, and commercial transportation.

Today, there is a lack of lower-emission alternatives to adequately meet the many needs in these sectors, which together account for 80 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. We have spent decades researching new technologies to address this challenge, and recently created a new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, to commercialize key technologies from our extensive research and development portfolio.

For example, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities around the world to enable large-scale emission reductions, building upon a Carbon Capture Venture we began in 2018.

We’re the global leader in carbon capture and have captured more than 40 percent of all the world’s captured anthropogenic CO2. ExxonMobil was the first company in the world to capture more than 120 million tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 25 million cars.

We’ll also leverage ExxonMobil’s significant experience in the production of hydrogen which, when coupled with CCS, is likely to play a critical role in a lower-carbon energy system. Other low-carbon technology focus areas in our portfolio will be added as they mature to commercialization. We’re planning to invest $3 billion on lower-emission energy solutions through 2025 on top of $10 billion we’ve spent over the past two decades.

In other emission-reduction efforts, we are working to find new and better ways to monitor and reduce methane emissions, including via a collaboration with universities, environmental groups, and other industry partners. In 2019, we reduced our methane emissions nearly 18 percent across our U.S. unconventional operations, compared to 2016, when the Paris Agreement was signed.

Overall, our operated greenhouse gas emissions went down by 6 percent from 2016 to 2019, and we’ve laid out plans for further reductions by 2025.

While we will continue to advance these plans, there is also a clear role for government – which brings us back to policy.

Durable, predictable, and cost-effective policies will be required to develop and deploy multiple needed low-carbon technologies at scale. Carbon pricing would send a clear signal through the market, creating incentives to reduce emissions. Such a signal will also incentivize and coordinate the research, investment, and technology development that is needed to bring about key solutions.

Putting a price on carbon will allow policymakers to eliminate the inefficient patchwork of regulations that is broadly recognized to be more expensive. Through the current approach, policymakers are putting a very high, but hidden, price on carbon that people can’t see and are unaware they are paying. An explicit price on carbon would be transparent, incentivize behavior to reduce emissions, allow the market to function efficiently, and stimulate the cross-sector opportunities needed to uncover the largest emission reduction opportunities at the lowest cost.

API now joins major trade groups representing diverse industries in publicly backing carbon pricing. Collectively, they echo a report released last August in which the International Energy Agency noted, “Carbon pricing, in particular, is a useful tool to guide investment decisions, especially those that will have long-term impacts on future emissions.”

The Climate Leadership Council (CLC), of which ExxonMobil is a founding member, is similarly calling for the adoption of a carbon fee. As noted by the CLC, the Council’s bipartisan plan could cut U.S. CO₂ emissions in half by 2035, as compared to 2005 levels.

As the world increasingly focuses on addressing the biggest emissions challenges, a price on carbon is an important policy component that can aid in solving these challenges. We look forward to continuing our work with stakeholders to help move an effective policy solution forward.

Read more about ExxonMobil’s climate strategy and our engagements on related policies in our Energy & Carbon Summary.

Darren Woods is ExxonMobil’s Chairman and CEO
source: https://energyfactor.exxonmobil.com/perspectives/supports-carbon-pricing/

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TIP: Google®: ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions to begin to verify the claims made in the blog post, i.e. press release.

Here are excerpts from three of the results of the search …

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The ChemicalEngineer, 17th February 2021
ExxonMobil creates low-carbon business
[ EXCERPTS ]
Article by Amanda Jasi
EXXONMOBIL has created a new business unit to commercialise its low-carbon portfolio, which it is calling Low Carbon Solutions (LCS).

According to reports, Exxon’s announcement comes as it faces increasing pressure from environmentalists and investors to do more for climate change.

According to reports, Exxon’s announcement comes as it faces increasing pressure from environmentalists and investors to do more for climate change. In a report from think tank Carbon Tracker, the company was shown to be notably lagging behind competition with regards to its efforts for transition to a lower carbon economy. Additionally, unlike competitors such as BP, Repsol, Shell, and Total, ExxonMobil has not committed to a long-term net-zero ambition.
source: https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/exxonmobil-creates-low-carbon-business/

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Oil & Gas Journal, Feb 5th, 2021
ExxonMobil creates business to commercialize emission-reduction technology

ExxonMobil has created a new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, to commercialize its low-carbon technology portfolio. The new business will initially focus on carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is advancing plans for more than 20 new carbon capture and storage opportunities and plans to invest $3 billion on lower emission energy solutions through 2025.

New CCS projects and partnerships under evaluation include:

    US Gulf Coast – ExxonMobil is assessing multiple that have the potential to collect millions of tonnes of CO2 from industrial sources for storage in onshore and offshore geologic formations. Included in these projects is a CCS hub concept in Southeast Texas.
    Wyoming, USA – ExxonMobil has progressed permitting for the expansion of its La Barge CCS facilities, which could enable an additional 1 million tonnes/year (tpy) of CO2 to be captured. Existing facilities currently capture 7 million tpy, largest amount of CO2 captured by any industrial facility in the world.
    Netherlands – ExxonMobil has executed a joint development agreement to advance its interest in the Port of Rotterdam CO2 Transportation Hub and Offshore Storage project (Porthos). The project aims to collect CO2 emissions from industrial sources and transport them by pipeline to depleted North Sea offshore gas fields. Porthos and its potential customers have applied for EU and national support mechanisms. ExxonMobil also participates in the H-Vision study into large-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen in Rotterdam.
    Belgium – ExxonMobil is participating in the multi-stakeholder CCS project at the Port of Antwerp, Europe’s largest integrated energy and chemicals cluster. The project, which would collect CO2 emissions from industrial sources for storage, recently applied for support from the European Union.
    Scotland – Through its joint venture in the SEGAL system in Northeast Scotland, ExxonMobil is progressing discussions to support the Acorn project, which will collect CO2 from the St. Fergus gas processing complex for transport and storage in offshore gas reservoirs.
    Singapore – ExxonMobil is planning a CCS hub concept to capture, transport, and permanently store CO2 generated by industrial activity in the Asia-Pacific region. The project concept is based on a plan to capture CO2 emissions from Singapore manufacturing facilities for storage in the region.
    Qatar - ExxonMobil is a partner in several existing joint ventures with Qatar Petroleum that operate a CCS project with an annual capacity of 2.1 million tonnes at Ras Laffan. ExxonMobil is evaluating opportunities to add additional capture capacity in the region.

source: https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/hse/article/14196935/exxonmobil-creates-business-to-commercialize-emissionreduction-technology

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Bloomberg Green, February 1, 2021
Climate Adaptation
Exxon’s New Carbon Capture Plan Looks a Lot Like Its Old One
[ EXCERPTS ]
By Kevin Crowley
    Oil giant’s $3 billion pledge less than 5% of capital budget
    Exxon appeals for government to support carbon capture

Exxon Mobil Corp. pledged to spend $3 billion on low-emission technologies through 2025 to address investor concerns over its environmental record, unveiling a plan that comprises several projects that have already been announced.

Several of the projects touted by Exxon aren’t new. The carbon capture efforts in the Netherlands, Belgium and Qatar are already being developed with partners. Exxon said it has moved ahead with permitting for the expansion of its LaBarge facility in Wyoming, which would be the company’s biggest carbon capture project, but that project is still in doubt after being put on hold.

source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-01/exxon-makes-3-billion-carbon-capture-vow-after-climate-pressure

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Professional journalists have a number of guidelines to establish the veracity of whatever it is that they report.

The most important of these is determining at least two independent sources to corroborate the story.

I recommend that you take a few minutes to read the journalistic guidelines. Practicing what journalists preach will help you get past the press release hype.

TIP: Google® How do journalists verify their sources

Here are a few results of the search …

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Science News for Students
[ Excerpt ]
Fact checking: How to think like a journalist
When in doubt — and you should always be in doubt — here’s how to assess what “facts” you can trust

By Janet Raloff
September 21, 2017

Today, getting information is as easy as opening a browser on your computer or phone, typing in a question and waiting a nanosecond for a long list of links to load. These websites will promise to answer your question. But actually, they may not be all that trustworthy. What do you do?

There are plenty of people who call themselves a “journalist.” What separates a good journalist from a bad or lazy one is often where they get their information. Good reporters are always on the lookout for a “scoop” — new information or new interpretations of existing data. But for them, a scoop is worthless if it’s based on bogus or misinterpreted data.

To verify a new claim, a reporter contacts experts on the topic. Often many. In journalism, such experts are known as “sources.” This may be a scientist who discovered something new in the lab. Or it could be the witness to a crime. The more strange or controversial that claim is, the more sources a reporter may need to contact.

Just because I read something — or hear a scientist say something — doesn’t mean I believe it. Reporters are taught to ask questions, then verify every factoid they can. Indeed, sooner or later every cub reporter hears: “If your mother says she loves you, don’t believe it unless you can get confirmation from at least two independent sources.” That line is meant to make us question everything! Journalists are skeptics. And you should be too.

You should also be skeptical — of everything you read, even here. That’s acting like a journalist.
source: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/outside-comment/fact-checking-how-think-journalist
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NPR Ethics Handbook
[ EXCERPT ]
Accuracy

Our purpose is to pursue the truth. Diligent verification is critical. We take great care to ensure that statements of fact in our journalism are both correct and in context. In our reporting, we rigorously challenge both the claims we encounter and the assumptions we bring. We devote our resources and our skills to presenting the fullest version of the truth we can deliver, placing the highest value on information we have gathered and verified ourselves.
Accuracy in our reporting

Accuracy is at the core of what we do. We do our best to ensure that everything we report faithfully depicts reality – from the tiniest detail to the big-picture context that helps put the news into perspective. Facts are incredibly slippery. Studies of press accuracy routinely find mistakes – sometimes many of them – in news media reports. This means that when journalists – even the best ones – think they're getting it right, they're all too often wrong. Errors are inevitable. But our best defense against them is constant vigilance. This is why we systematically and rigorously review our facts before we make our reporting public.

Guideline: Be able to identify the source of each fact you report.

When making a general assertion of fact in a story, the reporter and editor should be able to immediately identify the source and explain why that person or organization is credible and authoritative. This is essential to the editing process and it also lets us stand by our reporting in a clear and convincing way if a story comes under question. We should never be in the position of looking for corroboration after a report has been published or broadcast.

In addition to this care in the way we source general assertions of fact, the language of such assertions must be precise. We shouldn't put ourselves in a position where we believe the thrust of a statement is correct and supported by the facts, but the statement is open to question because we didn't express it with enough precision.

Guideline: Guard against subjective errors.

Ensuring we have our factual details correct is only part of the accuracy equation. It's just as important to make sure we've correctly interpreted those facts in our reporting. The burden is on us to ensure that the way we use the material we collect — sound, photos and words — is true to their intended meaning and context. When quoting or paraphrasing anyone - whether in a blog post, an online story or in an on-air "actuality" – consider whether the source would agree with the interpretation, keeping in mind that sources may sometimes parse their words even though we accurately capture their meaning. An actuality from someone we interview or a speaker at an event should reflect accurately what that person was asked, was responding to or was addressing.

Guideline: Edit like a prosecutor.

Great journalism comes in part from the collaborative efforts of researchers, reporters, editors and producers, who all play a key role in ensuring accuracy. We believe in teamwork. But good editors are also good prosecutors. They test, probe and challenge reporters, always with the goal of making NPR's stories as good (and therefore as accurate) as possible.

"A successful editor has to help the reporter see the big picture, but also needs to fret over details," says Jonathan Kern in Sound Reporting. And, "above all ... editors are responsible for making sure that reports are accurate and fair."

Guideline: Take special care with news that might cause grief or damage reputations.

Any falsehoods in our news reports can cause harm. But errors that may damage reputations or bring about grief are especially dangerous, and extra precautions should be taken to avoid them. We don't report an individual's death, for example, until it has been confirmed by authoritative sources and we're certain the family is aware. In those cases, err on the side of caution. Go slowly, and above all, get clearance from a senior manager.

This cautious, considered approach also applies to what we do on social media sites. (For more on that point, see the discussion below about accuracy online.)

source: https://www.npr.org/about-npr/688139552/accuracy
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CUNY-City University of New York
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism
Fact Checking & Verification for Reporting: Fact-Checking Your Reporting
[ EXCERPT ]
The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that journalists must "seek truth and report it."

There's "no other job where you get paid to tell the truth...we are detectives for the people." The late, great investigative reporter Wayne Barrett, in his last column for the Village Voice.

It is because “journalism is a discipline of verification,”[1] that journalists consider the commitment to verification and accuracy a “strategic ritual” and part of their “professional identity,” which is “something that legitimizes a journalist’s social role as being demonstrably different from other communicators.”[2] A devotion to accuracy is the value that journalists add to issues and stories in the information ecosystem. Barbara Gray, Newmark J-School, The Emerald Handbook of Modern Information Management, p 421

Always ask yourself these questions when trying to verify information:

    "Who says?"
    "How do they know?"
    "Are they biased?"
    "What don't I know?"

Where do I fact check?

    Go to the primary source when possible. Using secondary sources like articles can perpetuate errors.
    Use your university library’s, your news organization’s, or your public library’s electronic and print resources.
    Search databases of news and journal articles, like LexisNexis or ScienceDirect, which aren’t accessible on the web, but are available in libraries.
    Contact an expert - but check them out
    Google Scholar
    Google Books
    Open data portals
    Reference books
    Find a stakeholder - someone who's interested in the same thing you are

Keep good records (physical or electronic) of your reporting process and sources:
Keep your reporter’s notes.
Archive webpages & articles used as sources on Evernote  (https://evernote.com/ )(https://evernote.com/basic) or Wayback Machine  (https://archive.org) .
Keep a list of databases searched and search results used in reporting.
List all sources.
List statistics used and where you found them, etc.
  Write fast, fact check slow: These tips will get your brain into a fact-checking mode.
  Get physical with your story! Print it out in a larger and a different font.

source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11O_kLgoWEzkY0yql9ZnXxVLNwq-3PZmKlZSKwkuCD8s/edit
Source: Carroll, Brian. Writing and Editing for Digital Media. Routledge: 2014.

source: https://researchguides.journalism.cuny.edu/c.php?g=547454&p=4256107
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Jean Steinhardt served as Librarian, Aramco Services, Engineering Division, for 13 years. He now heads Jean Steinhardt Consulting LLC, producing the same high quality research that he performed for Aramco.

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