"HOUSTON — Three years ago, Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil and now President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, was probably the man least expected to show up at a town council meeting in North Texas to oppose a local construction project.

His complaint: A proposed water tower in Bartonville, Tex., meant to help use hydraulic fracturing to coax natural gas out of a shale field, would decrease the property value of his nearby ranch. He joined a suit to halt construction.

Mr. Tillerson dropped out of the suit after a judge threw out his complaint — and after news media reports implied he was hypocritically pursuing his backyard interests in opposing a project of a sort that Exxon Mobil has engaged in around the world. Admirers might cite Mr. Tillerson’s willingness to change course as a sign of being nimble when necessary."

Clifford Krauss and John Schwartz report for the New York Times December 13, 2016. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Tillerson History At Exxon One Of Defying, Opposing US Interests" (MSNBC) [3]

"Under Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Forged Its Own Path Abroad" (New York Times) [4]

"Rex Tillerson’s Company, Exxon, Has Billions at Stake Over Sanctions on Russia" (New York Times) [5]

"With Oil Sands Ambitions on a Collision Course With Climate Change, Exxon Still Stepping on the Gas" (InsideClimate News) [6]

"Trump’s Pick For Secretary Of State Backs The Paris Climate Deal Trump Would Scrap" (Washington Post) [7]

Editorial: "A Big Change To U.S. Broadcasting Is Coming — And It’s One Putin Might Admire" (Washington Post) [8]

"Rex Tillerson’s View Of Climate Change: It’S Just An ‘Engineering Problem’" (Washington Post) [9]

"The Climate Impacts of Trump’s Exxon Pick for Secretary of State" (Climate Central) [10]