Will Tillerson Be Able to Manage Trump?

Russian president Vladimir Putin and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson

Excerpts from “How Exxon’s Love Affair with Rosneft Helped Tillerson Win Putin’s Heart”

Source: Bloomberg News, December 22, 2016

… For Exxon, [Rex] Tillerson not only built a cash cow that will pay off for decades, he created an engineering marvel that redefined what’s possible in hostile climes, breaking multiple world drilling records, including a well eight miles long. Impressed by his ability to master one of the most treacherous — and potentially lucrative — business environments in the world, Exxon rewarded Tillerson with the dual titles of chairman and CEO in 2006 …

…When Exxon and Rosneft’s legal status at Sakhalin-1 was finalized in 1996, the Russian company’s output was just 240,000 barrels a day, a fraction of its Soviet-era peak. Within a decade, the island project alone was pumping a quarter million barrels a day, helping Rosneft fund a wave of takeovers that would boost its production 20-fold to surpass China and even Exxon itself …

… “The big question is whether a guy who’s worked in such a strong, closely knit corporate culture for 40 years can pivot and be effective as a global diplomat,” [Edward] Chow [at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington] said. “Nobody knows the answer to that, but if you can deal with Putin and [Rosneft chair Igor] Sechin, then you can manage Trump, if anyone can manage Trump.”