For Big Oil, does the future look too much like the past?

With Big Oil pumping out immense profits, you

Exxon Mobil Corp., the giant among giants, remains outspoken in its belief in the enduring primacy of oil — an issue that activist shareholders challenged at the company’s annual meeting today in Dallas. Energy alternatives have gotten a bit more traction at Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, but they still take a far back seat to other priorities at those premier fossil fuel marketers.

Big Oil commands the expertise, and certainly the resources, to play a transformative role in tackling the planet’s energy dilemma. That, however, would entail a measure of self-transformation. At least in the short term, these profit machines have little incentive to bear the costs of a new mission or foster a culture of change.

Contrast their stance with that of U.S. carmakers. General Motors Corp., for one, is scrambling for survival by investing in hybrids, fuel cells and other technologies that limit oil use and carbon emissions. “The auto industry has been disciplined by the marketplace,” said Deron Lovaas, a transportation expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Their profit margins are gone. The marketplace is not providing the discipline for the oil companies to help get us where we, and they, need to go.”

LA Times