ExxonMobil is considering further cuts to capital expenditure, changes to its board and more investment in sustainable technologies after it held talks with activist investors engaged in a proxy battle to reshape the US oil supermajor. The changes could be announced as early as next week, when the company reports its fourth-quarter earnings, people familiar with the discussions said.
The potential changes surfaced hours after Engine No 1, which launched a proxy battle with the group in December, announced that it had formally nominated four independent director candidates to Exxon’s board. A person familiar with Engine No. I’s thinking said it would evaluate Exxon’s forthcoming announcements, “but given the company’s long history it is hard to trust that any changes will endure or be the start of a new direction without real change on the board, and there’s no reason to permit this board to pick its own new members”.
Exxon’s investment in sustainable technologies is likely to focus on biofuels and carbon capture and storage, two areas of development the company has pursued for years. Exxon had already cut planned capex for 2021 in November, when it also said it may write off up to $20bn worth of assets as it reviewed its portfolio in the wake of last year’s coronavirus-induced oil price crash.
Engine No 1, a recently established fund, said its proposed directors would help Exxon “chart a new value-creating path, including better long-term capital discipline, strategic planning and management incentives”. Its nominees include a former windpower executive and strategist at Google’s “moonshot factory”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that DE Shaw, another activist investor, may support the potential changes. DE Shaw declined to comment.