OIL IN A SHELL

Oil is a dominant source of energy worldwide and oil companies supply billions of barrels of
petroleum products daily to power transportation and industry. Rising public concern about
climate change and measures to reduce the use of carbon-based fuels have yet to fully impact
the industry.
Big Oil is a name used to describe the world's six or seven largest publicly traded and investor-
owned oil and gas companies, also known as supermajors. The term, particularly in the United
States, emphasizes their economic power and influence on politics. Big Oil is often associated
with the fossil fuels lobby and is also used to refer to the industry as a whole in a pejorative or
derogatory manner.
Often, Big Oil is known to largely greenwash what they do as the very spirit of its existence
does not support the subsistence method of what sustainability stands for. A year-long U.S.
House of Representatives investigation uncovered major efforts by Big Oil to deceive the
public by creating the misimpression that fossil fuel companies are taking steps to move away
from fossil fuels as part of an energy transition toward a sustainable future while internal
company documents reveal that they have no such plans. Major findings of the Comm ittee,
based on company documents, include that these companies: proceeded with plans for long-
term fossil fuel production and thus continued to be the primary driver of global climate change
while publicly pledging to transition to renewable energy sources; and launched advertising
campaigns targeting the American public, and engaged in accounting gimmicks and delaying
manoeuvres, to create the false impression that they are taking major steps to reduce carbon
emissions without actually taking such steps.
The two major companies that were involved in the greenwashing of these specifics were
Exxon Mobil and Shell PLC. These are two of the largest shareholders in the Big Oil landscape.

Shell PLC

Shell PLC has faced criticism for inflating the content of its "Renewable and Energy Solutions"
reporting segment with activities that are not actually related to renewable energy. In its Annual
Report, Shell reported that its Renewable and Energy Solutions segment accounted for 3% of
its total revenue, with the remainder coming from oil and gas activities. However, an analysis
by environmental campaign group, InfluenceMap, found that the actual proportion of revenue
from renewable energy was much smaller.
The report found that Shell had included revenue from biofuels and natural gas, which are not
considered renewable energy sources, in its Renewable and Energy Solutions segment. This
has led to accusations of "greenwashing," as Shell appears to be inflating the importance of its
renewable energy activities to investors and the public.

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Most recently in February 2023, Shell was probed this month of misrepresenting its renewable
energy investment claims in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Climate
and ESG Task Force. According to Global Witness's complaint, Shell has "mislabelled" the
RES segment because it includes investments in fossil fuel-related activities that are not
renewable or energy solutions. For example, Global Witness alleges that a "significant portion"
of Shell's spending on RES is directed toward marketing and trading "natural gas" and general
power. citing international and domestic authorities, Global Witness claims that gas is not
renewable or an energy solution.
Separately, Greenpeace activists boarded a vessel contracted to Shell (SHEL) as it sailed in the
Atlantic Ocean, demanding the company "stop drilling and start paying." The vessel is taking
a floating production, storage and offshore platform to the Penguins field near the Scottish
Shetland Islands in the North Sea.
The company also tries to avoid responsibility for the huge emissions caused by its oil and gas
products, saying that "Shell only controls its own emissions", and not "our customers' carbon
emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell".
There is also evidence and statements by Shell employees where the entity is told to sell
emitting facilities in GHG-sensitive areas like California, Washington, and Canada but
continues to operate in countries like China, Singapore, and Malaysia since they aren't as
'politically sensitive'. They continue to operate in these areas as seen by Steve Lesher, a
corporate employee's email, which was found amongst other evidence that shows the clarity in
negligence of the oil giant towards actual climate related concerns.

Exxon Mobil

ExxonMobil, one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, has publicly committed to
the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees
Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees
Celsius. However, the company has been criticized for not doing enough to promote the
implementation of policies that would support these goals, particularly when it comes to
keeping their own operations in line with required policies.
But Exxon's chief Executive Darren Woods sent out a memo urging an industry lobby group to
remove a reference to the climate treaty from a draft sustainability announcement. Such a
reference "could create a potential commitment to advocate on the Paris agreement goals", the
executive warned. He continues to operate as the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation.
Exxon has also been increasingly promoting the use of algae as a sustainable energy source.
The company has invested heavily in algae-based biofuels and has been touting it as a
promising solution to the world's energy needs. ExxonMobil's interest in algae-based biofuels
dates back to 2009, when the company announced a $600 million investment in a partnership
with Synthetic Genomics, a company focused on the development of algae-based biofuels. The
partnership aimed to develop a new generation of biofuels that could help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Since then, ExxonMobil has

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made several public statements about its commitment to algae-based biofuels, emphasizing the
potential for algae to be a scalable and sustainable source of renewable energy.
In 2019, the company announced that it had developed a breakthrough technology that could
convert algae into a low-emission transportation fuel that could power cars, trucks, and
airplanes. However, ExxonMobil's promotion of algae-based biofuels as a sustainable energy
solution has been met with scepticism by many environmental groups and activists. Critics
argue that the company's interest in algae is part of a broader strategy to greenwash its image
and deflect attention from its continued reliance on fossil fuels.
ExxonMobil has a long history of opposing climate action and funding climate denial groups.
The company has also been criticized for its role in causing environmental damage and
contributing to the climate crisis through its oil and gas operations. It is important to view
ExxonMobil's interest in algae through a critical lens. In its 12 years in the space, Exxon
invested $350m in algae biofuels, according to spokesperson Casey Norton.
Internal emails revealed recently that they were way behind the required scalability to make
this biofuel a hit. In February 2021, ExxonMobil announced that it had ended its algae-based
biofuels research program. Viridos was the company they had partnered with.
Viridos laid off 60% of its workforce after Exxon's December 2022 withdrawal from the sector,
which was only revealed by Bloomberg last month. They were the chief partners who worked
on the research and technical development of Algae based biofuel in ExxonMobil for close to
a decade. They worked in close relationships with the company and remained anonymous after
being laid off, several accounts however reveal them stating that they felt the "priorities of the
company were swayed due to stakeholder pressure".

TASK AT HAND:
You are the consultants for strategy and public relations at Big Oil panning all four corporations
with a major focus on Shell and ExxonMobil. Following are what you are tasked towards:
With respect to Shell PLC:
• Justify and come up with a detailed conference plan to address the Securities and
Exchange Commission’s ESG Task Force probing into the greenwashing claims. Also
address the continued operation in non GHG sensitive areas due to neglect policy.
• Prepare a press release and a strategic campaign to firstly,
1. Talk about the misrepresentation of energy investment claims
2. Clear concise plans to make smarter investments in renewable energy
3. Redirect green investments and put in place a compliance tool - of your
creativity to ensure transparency and due diligence
• Come up with a plan to deal with the activists who are showing utter dissatisfaction
with the company and release a repair measure on social media.
• Prepare a 5-year plan to delve into the renewable energy sector, and make it available
to consumers.
• Prepare a financial budget for the same.

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With respect to ExxonMobil:
• Partner up with any one climate lobby group to address what the then Chief Executive
Director said in his memo. Come up with two recent changes in policy statement memos
to quash his previous one.
• Discuss the layoffs at Viridos motivated by Exxons pull out from the biofuel deal via a
report and press release.
• Draw up a detailed future algae-based fuel contingency plan for launch.
• Come up with a strategic financial plan to further algae-based fuel development in
ExxonMobil. Show the clear usage of research sunk costs for future plans.

DELIVERABLES:
• A PowerPoint Presentation (not exceeding 15 slides)
• An Excel sheet showing financials
• A Press Release Statement for the public
• Video advertisement as Shell PLC, of not more than 90 seconds.
• Any other creative which you deem necessary.

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