Chief Says Exxon Will Keep Doing What It

OIL prices had their biggest ever drop this week, falling by more than $16 a barrel in the last four days. Still, oil remains at stratospheric levels, settling at $128.88 a barrel on Friday. And with global oil consumption still growing faster than new supplies, there are few remedies. In an interview, Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, shared his views on oil prices, the role of Western companies in a world increasingly dominated by state-owned energy giants and the future for alternative fuels in a fossil fuel world.

Q. The debate lately has centered around expanding domestic drilling. But many say this will do nothing to reduce prices now because it takes 10 years before any new production comes online.


A. If you use that logic, then we should not have any of the barrels that are available today. All of today