ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson, urged the government to "provide timely access to resources" for energy exploration to boost supplies and meet the rising world demand.
With crude oil prices having more than doubled over the past 3 years owing to surging demand for petroleum-based fuels, Tillerson feels that the government should enable energy companies to exploit the full extent of their technology and know-how to bear to new supply opportunities.
"Most energy technologies are developed with specific resources in mind. If these resources are made off-limits, the incentive for R&D is reduced."
Some international oil producers can lay claim to more expertise than state-owned entities that control some of the world's largest oilfields. This expertise is sorely needed to fully develop aging or difficult-to-reach reserves.
Tillerson said that developing nations spending a higher proportion of their GDP on energy are making themselves vulnerable and that current crude prices are harmful to world econominies.
At the press conference, Tillerson also said that he hopes the company's differences with Venezuela over oil contracts can be resolved with negotiations; He was unable to provide the financial impact of a slowdown in production due to the Prudhoe Bay Field shutdown; He would like to expand ExxonMobil's oil business in Russia and that while rivals are shutting wells in Nigeria, ExxonMobil would like to increase production there.
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