Exxon, Chevron oppose environmental drive to cut big oil’s reach

Bloomberg

Climate activists seeking to pull investors into their camp are pushing Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to limit money spent on exploration in favor of higher dividends and more share buybacks.
Shareholders will vote on proposals that would urge the two biggest U.S. oil producers to cut what they spend opening up new oil fields and instead hand the money to investors. Environmental critics say future climate rules will soon make it unprofitable to pump. The companies say demand will grow for decades, even if carbon limits are imposed.
“The business model that worked for the last century won’t work this century,” said Natasha Lamb, director of equity research and shareholder engagement for Arjuna Capital, the investment company that proposed the shareholder measures.
“We simply can’t burn all the carbon that’s on reserve. We’d like to see them shrink their business and return more money to shareholders.”
Such environmental appeals have so far shown little chance of success during annual meetings. Yet, in recent years, they’ve transformed the events from bland, little-noticed formalities for the companies to platforms for activist groups to highlight environmental and corporate-governance causes.

Direct Appeals
Sidewalk protests continue to be a staple, and there will be one this year outside Exxon’s gathering in Dallas involving groups alleging that Exxon misled the public and shareholders on its early climate-change research. Increasingly, though, such protests are giving way to buttoned-down, direct appeals to long-term investors to reconsider the business model.
In this case, the companies may be fighting more than just environmental activists. Between advances in renewable energy, government policies promoting low-carbon activity and improved technology for recovering current resources, the world may have already found all the hydrocarbons it will ever need to burn. It’s not just activist investors saying it — energy analysts associated with Wall Street institutions like Morgan Stanley are broaching the subject.
“Time is against them because every year these things seem to be gaining steam,” Allen Good, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, said.

Exxon First
This will be the first time Exxon stockholders weigh in on such a resolution, one of four climate-change related issues on the ballot. Chevron investors overwhelmingly rejected the proposal at last year’s meeting with a 96.8 percent “no’’ vote. Chevron, which will meet at its corporate headquarters in San Ramon, California, has five proposals related to climate change.
“Investors are concerned Exxon Mobil risks eroding shareholder value,” Arjuna, a Marion, Massachusetts-based unit of Baldwin Brothers Inc., said in the resolution distributed to Exxon holders. “In the face of global climate change, we believe investor capital is at risk from investments in projects that may prove economically stranded.” In the proxy filing mailed to shareholders, Exxon urged opposition to the proposal.

Carbon Cost
“The company addresses the potential for future climate-related policy, including the potential for restriction on emissions, through the use of a proxy cost of carbon,” Exxon said. “The proxy cost seeks to reasonably reflect the types of actions and policies that governments may take over the outlook period relating to the exploration, development, production, transportation or use of carbon-based fuels.”