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Is Exxon Right This Time?

Posted by: Steve LeVine on February 06

I’ve written the cover story for BusinessWeek, which hit the stands today. The topic is Exxon. The premise of the story is to take a reading of Big Oil by examining the most successful by far of all the companies; if Exxon has got problems, the rest definitely do. The story points out that Exxon retains superlative cash flow, but has numerous weaknesses built in to its system.

Ultimately, Exxon has successfully navigated the real and supposed crises of the last several decades by sticking steadfastly — some say rigidly — to much the same highly cautionary formula devised in the 1870s by John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Exxon predecessor Standard Oil.

So where are we today? At the cusp of a fundamental shift in global energy, as many argue? Or, as Exxon asserts in continuing to adhere to its orthodoxy, are we in just another cycle?

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About

Steve LeVine covers foreign affairs for BusinessWeek. He previously was correspondent for Central Asia and the Caucasus for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for 11 years. His first book, The Oil and the Glory , a history of the former Soviet Union through the lens of oil, was published in October 2007. Putin’s Labyrinth, his latest book, profiles Russia through the lives and deaths of six Russians.

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