ExxonMobil will 'still be producing oil and gas' in 2050: CEO

ExxonMobil (XOM) will still be producing oil and gas in 2050, the energy company's CEO told Yahoo Finance on Monday, but fossil fuels will likely be a smaller part of the business.

Darren Woods told Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Akiko Fujita in an interview that the energy giant will "still be producing oil and gas depending on how quickly the world transitions" to green technologies.

"That [oil and gas] may be a smaller part of the portfolio than it is today," he said. Woods envisions using oil and gas as fee

stock for materials that will be more efficient and require less emissions to produce.

"The products that we make in 2050 may be very different than the products that we make today," said Woods. He cited for instance a resin material derived from fuel molecules which can be used to replace the reinforcing bars commonly used in construction projects.

"It's lighter, lower emissions and more cost effective. It doesn't corrode. So —a brand new product to the world made out of gasoline molecules," said Woods.

The comments come as Exxon and others in the industry have doubled down on oil and gas through new deals. This week the energy giant closed its acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, making Exxon the biggest Permian Basin player. Woods highlighted the company's goal of producing more oil in a more cost effective way, while accelerating net zero operations.

"We're taking their [Pioneer's] 2050 net zero pledge and converting it into a '35 net zero plan and so that's good for the US economy, good for US consumers, good for US energy security and good for the environment," said Woods.

Woods also made a call for expanding the solutions to lower emissions over time.

"What we got to do is open the aperture and find every companies' and industries' ability to reduce emission and do it in a constructive way," he said.

He said he doesn't believe the answer to net zero involves getting rid of fossil fuels altogether.

"If you want to dramatically reduce the amount of emissions happening today, you're going to have to abandon the energy systems that are in place. That means people around the world are going to have to do without," he said. "The people who are lower on the economic prosperity scale ... If they don't have affordable, reliable energy, they'll be penalized. That, in my definition, is not a just transition."

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