ExxonMobil says its vast scale and geographical footprint provide a buffer against any operational disruptions as a result of the latest conflict in the Middle East.
"We have assets all over the world — we have upstream, downstream, we have a big trading operation, we operate a large long-term charter fleet so we can move feed and we can move products around the world to optimize around this situation," senior vice president Jack Williams said Tuesday at the Morgan Stanley Energy & Power Conference in New York. "We're optimizing around it like others are, I just think we have a few more tools."
In the run-up to the latest conflict, oil and LNG markets were "very well supplied," Williams said, providing some support.
While the war between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other represents a "big disruption," the impact for energy markets hinges on how long the strait of Hormuz will be closed to tanker traffic, he added.
For the time being, the company's top priority was the safety of its workers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.
And the US is in a good place to withstand any shocks given the shale revolution of the past decade.
"It's positioned our refining and chemical industries pretty helpfully, too, in terms of feed and energy costs," Williams. "We have good physical access to what we need here, but the prices, obviously, are global."
