Understanding Oil and Gas’s Support for Carbon Pricing

This training provides a hands-on lesson to help understand the fossil fuel industry, learn about its history and thought leaders, and hone your message about the support of the fossil fuel industry for carbon pricing. The training discusses the support the oil industry has expressed on pricing carbon–even carbon fee and dividend policies–and how to leverage them as supporters and partners for carbon pricing in your outreach and endorsement work.

Why Oil Majors support carbon pricing and what they expect

Why they support carbon fees

• Avoids regulation
• Predictable
• Simple, transparent, fair
• Allows each to compete effectively

What Oil Majors expect 

• Fees will drive efficiency improvements
• Fees will favor natural gas over coal
• Policy will support Carbon Capture Sequestration
• Policy enables orderly and efficient transition

As Houston Chronicle Business Columnist Chris Tomlinson writes, “successful corporations embrace smart policies and regulations that enable them to provide excellent products at reasonable prices. The energy industry recognizes the need to fight climate change. Now it needs a fair and predictable environment to do its part.”

Team O.I.L.'s Focus

As a nonpartisan action team that works very hard to talk to all majors, the team's political calculus is straightforward:

• Republicans have the majority today in the Senate and for the foreseeable future.
• CCL needs more conservative Members of Congress to move the Energy Innovation Act forward, so we need provide the political will and political cover for conservatives to act.
• That means we need more Republican/Conservative members/supporters/voices 
• The oil majors support that we are talking about hear today can be a very important lever to get more conservatives supporters and more vocal conservative supporters

Background

Team O.I.L. (O.I.L. stands for "Oil & Gas Industry Liaisons") are CCL’s resident experts on Oil & Gas industry and are happy to answer questions and provide input on any issues relating to the O&G industry. The team members work closely to maintain communicative relationships with Exxon, Shell, API, AAPG, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Energy and Climate Program. We’ve made contacts with Chevron, Koch Companies Public Sector, WSPA, IPAA, and others who are either less enthusiastic to our message.

Action team members come mostly from the petrochemical industry and are engineers or scientists, but others come from non-petrochemical backgrounds. New guests and members are always welcome, you don’t have to have petrochemical expertise to ask good questions. Regular monthly meetings are the 2nd and 4th Wednesday and more information can be found on the Team O.I.L. Action Team page.

Intro & Agenda
(from beginning)

ExxonMobil's Statements
(7:00)

Shell's Statements
(22:30)

Team OIL Projects
(40:19)

Liz Fisher

Bill Bray

Jeff Neuman

Download PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation.

Intro & Agenda
(from beginning)

ExxonMobil's Statements
(7:00)

Shell's Statements
(22:30)

Team OIL Projects 
(40:19)

Liz Fisher

Bill Bray

Jeff Neuman

• Join the Team O.I.L. Action Team.
• Resources For The Future: Mapping the U.S. Energy Economy To Inform Transition Planning