Trump likely to tap chief of Exxon
Deal-making skills could be tested as secretary of state
WASHINGTON — Rex Tillerson, chief executive of Exxon Mobil, whose extensive deal-making for the energy giant has plunged him into global politics from Yemen to Russia, is expected to be offered the secretary of state post this weekend by Presidentelect Donald Trump, according to two people close to Trump’s transition team.
Tillerson, 64, has spent the past 41 years at Exxon, where he began as a production engineer and went on to strike deals around the world for a company that explores, buys and sells oil and gas in some of the globe’s most troubled corners.
Those travels have en-
gendered close ties with a number of world leaders, notably President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has known Tillerson for more than two decades, and who awarded him the country’s Order of Friendship in 2013. The next year, Washington’s relationship with Moscow was plunged into a deep freeze with Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its shadow war in eastern Ukraine, a problem that Tillerson would inherit.
Trump is famously mercurial and could change his mind before making his final decision public. A transition spokesman, Jason Miller, declined to comment.
But Tillerson met with Trump for more than two hours at Trump Tower in New York on Saturday, and two key Trump advisers, his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have told Trump that Tillerson is in a “different league” from his other options. Among the other contenders have been Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Trump’s team has discussed the possibility of appointing as deputy secretary John Bolton, a highly conservative and combative veteran of the George W. Bush administration. Trump has also spoken with Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a far more centrist figure. Lacking experience
If confirmed by the Senate — which seems all but assured — Tillerson will deal with many of the world leaders he encountered at Exxon, but with a very different agenda. With no background in diplomacy outside the energy arena, he will have to manage a raging war in Syria that has consumed the last year of diplomatic efforts by Secretary of State John Kerry, an increasingly aggressive Russia, a rising China that is staking claims in the South China Sea, and a North Korea that is growing closer to being able to launch a nuclear-armed missile at the United States.
The kind of deal-making diplomacy that Tillerson has excelled at is very different from the kind of alliance-building required of a secretary of state, often without the incentive of profits for negotiating partners.
In the case of Russia, he would face the question of whether to lift sanctions imposed against the country by the Obama administration and European allies, measures that Trump has expressed doubts about. Those sanctions brought to a halt a major drilling project for Exxon in 2014.
He has also signed deals to develop oil fields in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, angering an important U.S. ally, Iraq, which bars such direct dealings.
Tillerson assumed the role of chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil in January 2006, and during his tenure the company acknowledged, for the first time, the science underlying climate change. It has said it supports the creation of a carbon tax, which most Republicans have opposed, and it also supported the Paris climate agreement, a major focus of Kerry’s time in office. Trump has vowed to abandon the climate pact.
Tillerson’s success in business gives him a major credential with Trump, who values that background, along with loyalty, above other traits. The question is how Tillerson will mesh with the far less hierarchical world of the State Department, where dissent is common, leaks about decision-making are often the order of the day, and success and failure are not measured on a balance sheet. Close ties to Russia
He is no stranger to political upheaval, however. Exxon has operations in about 50 countries, and Tillerson has not been shy about promoting the interests of his company, whether they coincide with U.S. policy or not.
Shortly after he took the helm, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela moved to nationalize the assets of 22 foreign oil companies. Most chose to negotiate compensation arrangements. But Exxon Mobil, along with ConocoPhillips, took Venezuela to international arbitration court, and in 2014 Exxon won a $1.6 billion compensation package.
It was a fraction of what the company had demanded, but Exxon showed unusual toughness. The company also mobilized a serious exploration effort in Guyanese waters claimed by Venezuela, and that work is expected to eventually result in major production.
Exxon has close ties to the Qatari national oil company, and has partnered with the Qataris in building a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Gulf of Mexico coast that is designed for importing gas and may eventually be used for exporting it, as well.
But most controversial is Exxon’s close relationship with Russia, which Tillerson has worked hard to strengthen. Exxon has various joint ventures around Russia with the state-backed oil giant Rosneft, and has contributed to social programs in education and health.