ExxonMobil - the oil world's champion
ExxonMobil hasn't exactly sailed through the downturn. But it remains convinced by oil's long future and undeterred by commodity cycles
If a test of management is the ability to ride tough times, ExxonMobil is in the exam hall. The world's biggest publicly traded oil and gas company is caught in an upstream bind as it invests heavily in unconventional fuels, in some cases at hefty prices, while struggling with the production of the crude that its own research predicts will provide most of the world's energy for another 20 years. Exxon's sanctions-hit Kara Sea exploration in partnership with Rosneft is a case in point. Its model remains positively old-fashioned. Collaboration is the buzzword in the industry these days, but Exxon is sticking to vertical integration: downstream profits, it thinks, are the natural hedge against
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
