Eeny Meeny Miney Moe: Ranking the Most Sinister Oil Companies
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Chapter 1: The Oil Industry's Dark Side
In recent statements, President Biden expressed his frustration with U.S. oil corporations prioritizing profits over production, suggesting, "Now is not the time to hoard record profits. It's time to take action for the benefit of your country." However, it seems rather optimistic to expect oil firms to act beyond their self-interest during a humanitarian crisis.
For those of us reliant on traditional combustion engines, the question arises: where can we find the best fuel prices? Gasoline is essentially a commodity, leading many to believe that all gas stations are comparable. While it's accurate that gasoline prices tend to be similar across different locations, significant disparities exist among the companies that distribute this fuel. Although all these companies have dubious practices, the level of their wrongdoing varies.
Here’s a ranking of the largest oil corporations in the U.S. from least to most malevolent, using a behavior scale that goes from virtuous to extremely unethical.
😇 — Exceptional conduct for an oil company
🤑 — Typical corporate greed
💩 — Not entirely malicious, but still problematic
👿— The epitome of corporate evil
Section 1.1: BP
👿 A court ruled that BP's severe negligence made them accountable for 67% of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, which resulted in over 130 million barrels of crude oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico over an 87-day period. Transocean, the owner of the oil rig, holds the remaining 33% of the blame, while Halliburton, the cement contractor for the rig, astonishingly escaped with only 3%.
💩 BP representatives have claimed that they aim for net-zero emissions by 2050 and intend to cut oil and gas output by 40% in the next decade. However, with a profit of $7.57 billion in 2021, it seems unlikely that BP will make real reductions—aside from perhaps in a PowerPoint presentation aimed at winning favor with climate activists.
😇 Despite this, BP has made notable investments in solar energy and is in discussions with the World Wildlife Fund to promote biodiversity conservation.
Section 1.2: Chevron
According to Warren Buffett during the 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting, "Chevron is not an evil company at all, and I have no qualms about investing in Chevron."
👿 However, just because Buffett has a favorable view doesn't imply that Chevron is innocent. In fact, it ranks as the second-worst polluter globally. Chevron engages in greenwashing, claiming a commitment to a lower-carbon future while maintaining its existing business practices.
💩 Chevron has also been involved in drilling in the protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and is suspected of being responsible for a 16,000-gallon oil spill in Alaska, alongside numerous violations of the EPA's Clean Water Act.
Chapter 2: Shell
👿 An internal document from Shell in 1988 linked their products to climate change and ecological disasters. For over three decades, Shell has knowingly profited from the escalating climate crisis while concealing evidence related to climate change, placing them on par with ExxonMobil.
💩 In addition, Shell absurdly argues that its oil and gas divisions must fund the transition to greener alternatives. According to CEO Ben van Beurden, "If we have to build a hydrogen plant from a wind farm in the North Sea for a billion dollars, it won’t be funded by the hydrogen business, but by oil and gas."
👿 Van Beurden's claims of financial hardship seem disingenuous given Shell's $524 billion profit since 1990.
Chapter 3: ConocoPhillips
👿 The Trump administration's policies opened previously protected areas to drilling, which ConocoPhillips quickly capitalized on, drilling in the valuable oil deposits beneath the Arctic tundra. Ironically, as fossil fuel extraction contributes to global warming, the melting permafrost threatens the stability required for drilling.
🤑 Instead of pivoting towards clean energy, ConocoPhillips has proposed a plan to refreeze the tundra to maintain its drilling activities.
👿 The merger of Conoco and Phillips in 2001 did not lead to a more ethical company. Instead, it intensified their lobbying efforts to drill in sensitive areas, and they are implicated in nearly 1,000 oil spills.
Chapter 4: ExxonMobil
👿 In the 1970s and 1980s, ExxonMobil employed scientists to investigate climate change before it gained widespread attention. The findings clearly indicated that human-induced carbon emissions were a significant cause of global climate change. Instead of changing their practices, ExxonMobil invested millions to mislead the public on the issue.
👿 Their "silence our critics" initiative continued into the 21st century, as government scientists predicting severe consequences from fossil fuel use were either retired or replaced through lobbying efforts.
👿 After the 1989 Valdez oil spill, Exxon resisted paying $5 billion in punitive damages and reluctantly spent $2 billion on cleanup efforts, all while vocally opposing environmental regulations.
👿 The merger of Exxon and Mobil allowed them to amplify their negative impact, as evidenced by a $3.5 billion pipeline project traversing indigenous territories and pristine rainforests from Chad to the Atlantic coast of Cameroon.
If you truly want to challenge these oil corporations, consider cycling to work instead.
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