Exxon not backing away from natural gas

Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. intends to spend $150 billion over the next five years in search of oil and natural gas, the company announced Thursday in an investor presentation at the New York Stock Exchange.

CEO Rex Tillerson said huge investments are needed to expand the supply of traditional fuels like oil and gas while also advancing new energy sources, The Associated Press reported.

Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded energy company, expects global energy demand to increase 30 percent by 2040, compared with 2010 levels.

AP also reports Exxon is investing more of its money in producing natural gas, which the company believes will replace coal as the second-most popular fuel by 2025. The company spent more than $30 billion in 2010 to acquire XTO Energy and become the largest natural gas producer in the U.S.

Competitors like Chesapeake Energy Corp. and others have scaled back their natural gas operations in light of low prices.

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