Concrete artist T. Boone Pickens' hedge funds are reportedly up 79% this year. While illusions of $200 oil are probably long gone, TBP is likely taking comfort that Exxon is doing its part to put a floor under the price of oil by reducing access to potential supply. The Texas General Land Office is accusing Exxon of "malicious" sabotage of oil wells on fields that it no longer wanted. To avoid giving other producers any opportunity to extract black gold from former Exxon grounds, the company apparently plugged its abandoned wells with a carefully balanced mixture of trash, sludge, explosives and cement plugs. But instead of an act of sabotage warranting a $1 billion fine, Exxon contends that it was on an environmental mission of mercy
"The allegations paint a false and misleading picture of Exxon Mobil's involvement in the O'Connor oil and gas leases," said Margaret Ross, an Exxon Mobil spokeswoman. "The area in which the wells are located has a water table very close to the surface. It was critical that Exxon protect the groundwater by plugging the wells solidly and thoroughly."
Compared with paying close to $5 billion for offloading 11 million gallons of crude into Prince William Sound, threatening Exxon with raiding its petty cash jar for $1 billion for its unique environmental program seems downright punitive.
Posted by merkin capital partners , Jul 17, 2009 3:30PM
XOM is king.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:31PM
Thanks Greg, that was interesting.
Suck it, retards. Go get a job for fuck's sake. If you can't get a job at least read the freakin' article, I would have thought that reading that Exxon plugged the well heads with explosives would have been enough to get you tools attention.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:33PM
@2 like how we're now pre-empting negative comments on Greg posts. Way to entrench Greg's situation further.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:36PM
I realized just now that I cant remember the old DB layout. Am I alone?
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:41PM
Hey Greg.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:41PM
I miss the Mike's hard lemonade ads.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:44PM
Does anyone else skip Greg's articles and go straight to the comments?
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:45PM
@6 - Thats IT! That is what Greg's voice sounds like. The guy from those commercials.
Thank you
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:50PM
@7 greg's articles are about as long as most comments, so i read them by accident at times.
Posted by HeadlessHorseman , Jul 17, 2009 3:51PM
Tough day to be an Exxon PR executive.
Exxon PR exec:
"The company...uhh, filled the old oil wells with explosives to...uhh, um, in an attempt to...uh...deter any uhh, and the groundwater..(asided to PR staff: Can you pull the fucking fire alarm already, I'm dying up here)...because the water tables and...our long-standing commitment to the environment..
Posted by NakedShort , Jul 17, 2009 3:57PM
I love XOM.
They litigated Valdeez damaged from 5 billion down to 500 million. From 1996 the settlement accrued interest at 5.9%; meanwhile XOM stock went up 272% over that time not including dividends.
Now thats killing it.
Posted by Novice , Jul 17, 2009 3:57PM
Greg, let me join the bandwagon of haters here. Your last paragraph isn't facetious enough to be funny, and your defense of Exxon is out of touch. If there's one thing that the limousine liberals and paranoid hedgies here can agree on, it's the righteous outrage of "what the hell did you do to my land!" (cf: Greenwich bulldozers settling property disputes)
Burying perf gun explosives in South Texas is inherently funny. And you blow it.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 3:59PM
@3, you're right. I am more retarded than the crybaby retards.
I suck, sorry 3 and Greg. I actually enjoy Greg's articles and I like his more subtle sense of humor. Sometimes the brilliant but deranged Bess makes me laugh out loud, but there has to be room for more subtle humor as well.
-2
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 4:11PM
@13 we've all said silly things right after a hit of the devil's crystal. Glad you're back.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 4:12PM
@2/13 i was just fucking with you.
-3
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 4:25PM
(!)
:
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 4:32PM
Greg's humor has more appeal to those who appreciate dry humor. That's it. The loudest members of the DB crowd don't appreciate it but I would be willing to bet that those who comment less enjoy his writing as well as / along side of Bess's more "deranged" (to quote CG) humor. Hecklers say what you want. I wish I could tell you I was Greg, or his mom cheerleading him, or even 2/13, but I'm some other schmuck.
-Some other schmuck
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 5:30PM
Greg, you are actually worse than the regular commenters say.
Seriously, no mention that this was done in 1950?
You are a dull tool.
Posted by guest , Jul 17, 2009 6:00PM
@18 You need help with your reading comprehension?
I hear many state unemployment offices pay for vocational training, maybe this link can help you. http://www.abcteach.com/directory/reading_comprehension/grades_24/
Ask a competant adult (obvs not your parents) to read it to you.
Posted by guest , Jul 18, 2009 12:09AM
I fucking LOVE oil!
Posted by guest , Jul 20, 2009 10:22AM
@19 Maybe you could join him for the spelling class....