Exxon Mobil's $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources received federal clearance, but former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield was barred from joining the new company's board of directors.
California accuses oil companies of misleading the public on the dangers of fossil fuels for decades. The state demands they help fund recovery efforts after climate change-fueled disasters.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that as recently as 2016, Exxon executives were privately pushing back on the idea that humans need to cut their use of oil and gas to limit global warming.
Guyana, one of South America's poorest countries, is under severe threat by rising seas. That had made it a champion of climate action, but it all changed when ExxonMobil found oil off its waters.
A set of events shook the oil world this week: A tiny shareholder won a battle with Exxon, investors put pressure on Chevron and a Dutch court ordered Shell to slash emissions.
Exxon, which usually avoids writing down assets, has announced its largest-ever impairment after canceling plans for natural gas projects in the Americas.
Apple's stock split is the cause of the shake-up at the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But the symbolic shift also represents how Exxon, once a corporate titan, has diminished in stature.
