Exxon CEO Just Loves Fracking So Much, He Pulls a NIMBY

I know what you’re thinking boys n girls (assuming you haven’t caught yesterday’s news, naturally),  what do we have here?  You read right, Exxon Mobil (company big on tracking for shale gas) CEO, Rex Tillerson just pulled, well,  to steal my friend, Bina’s description, Shit You Couldn’t Make up if You Tried .   Yes, boys n girls,  Rex Tillerson is just ga ga giddy over tracking, that is, as long as it isn’t in his backyard.  He has joined a lawsuit to prevent tracking in his own backyard .

As ExxonMobil’s CEO, it’s Rex Tillerson’s job to promote the hydraulic fracturing enabling the recent oil and gas boom, and fight regulatory oversight. The oil company is the biggest natural gas producer in the U.S., relying on the controversial drilling technology to extract it.

The exception is when Tillerson’s $5 million property value might be harmed. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home.

When I first saw the news story last night, I choked on my tea — it provided laughs on an otherwise bad day.

Tillerson has joined a lawsuit that cites fracking’s consequences in order to block the construction of a 160-foot water tower next to his and his wife’s Texas home.

Don’t hold your breath, boys n girls.  Ol’ Tillerson is still CEO of Exxon Mobil and I have seen nothing to date to suggest he has actually changed his tune regarding fracking,

The Wall Street Journal reports the tower would supply water to a nearby fracking site, and the plaintiffs argue the project would cause too much noise and traffic from hauling the water from the tower to the drilling site. The water tower, owned by Cross Timbers Water Supply Corporation, “will sell water to oil and gas explorers for fracing [sic] shale formations leading to traffic with heavy trucks on FM 407, creating a noise nuisance and traffic hazards,” the suit says.

Though Tillerson’s name is on the lawsuit, a lawyer representing him said his concern is about the devaluation of his property, not fracking specifically.

When he is acting as Exxon CEO, not a homeowner, Tillerson has lashed out at fracking critics and proponents of regulation. “This type of dysfunctional regulation is holding back the American economic recovery, growth, and global competitiveness,” he said in 2012.

Yup we know of the damage fracking can and does .  More examples here .

In shale regions, less wealthy residents have protested fracking development for impacts more consequential than noise, including water contamination and cancer risk . Exxon’s oil and gas operations and the resulting spills not only sinks property values, but the spills have leveled homes and destroyed regions .

Never mind that, Rex Tillerson is sticking to clutching his pearls over the potential devaluation of his 5 million dollar horse ranch.   In joining the lawsuit, he has dealt a further blow to the credibility of his own industry; the one he professed love toward. I am surprised that Exxon hasn’t thrown him under the bus yet. Although, this story only came out yesterday so that may well happen down the road.  For the time being, his employer has simply said that it plans to stay out of the litigations. We’ll see how long that’ll last.

Another example of right winged corporate thuggish hypocrisy.