Display Ad 20 -- No Title New York Times (1923-Currentfile); Dec 9, 1999; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851?2007) with Index (1851?1993) pg. A27 Tomorrow?s energy needs The green light for the ExxonMobil merger signals the start of an epic journey. It has been a colossal undertaking. While there's still more to be done to bring everyone and everything together. this union promises excitement and benefits. In the coming weeks. we want our cus- tomers, shareholders, partners and communities where we operate to understand why we merged and what to expect from us. A major driver of our union was the recog- nition that the world?s appetite for energy con? tinues to grow. Wherever we looked?at the wellhead. the refinery or at the pumpm?compa- nies were lining up to satisfy those demands. Competition?4mm players with considerable heft, others with niche expertise?was piling on. Looking ahead to this competition, we real- ized that while we were both good individually, we could do a much better job together. An ExxonMobil union would enable us to turn mom of tomorrow's energy opportunities into reality with unrivaled efficiency. Consider tomorrow: World population will climb to more than seven billion by 2020 and could approach nine billion by mid-century. As more nations strive to bring prosperity to their citizens, people are looking beyond basic food, clothing and shelter. They want a bigger share of a growing pie. And energy plays a central role in meeting those expectations. In the developing world. energy growth is strongly linked to eco- nomic development even more so than in highly developed service?driven economies. The US. Energy Information Agency pro- jects world energy use to climb by more than 60 percent over the next two decades. Most of the gain will occur in the developing countries of Asia and Latin America, where strong economic growth is forecast. By 2020, developing countries will consume more energy than the industrialized world. Fossil fuels?oil, gas and coal?will con- tinue to provide most of the world?s energy to 2020 and beyond. Oil tops the charts, largely because of its important role in transportation. The efficiency of fuel cells-a technology we're supporting?is very promising, but considerable time will be required for this technology to pene? trate the world?s transportation sector. And hydrocarbons will still be the most efficient and practical source for powering the fuel cells. Use of natural gas is expected to increase, particularly in the power generation sector. And many nations will turn to gas because its lower carbon content is considered an environmental plus. Coal will remain important for new power stations in developing Asia and parts of Latin America, where this low?cost fuel is plentiful, in the next 20 years. Energy experts agree the world has ample supplies of fossil fuel. And as improved technol- ogy is brought to bear, resources once consid- ered impractical can become economic. Beyond this, whole new areas of hydrocarbon reserves are yet to be identified. While much of tomor? row's energy is likely to come from remote areas. existing energy assets must be worked more smartly. Companies with resource experience. financial resources and technological strength will be needed to satisfy the world?s growing energy needs. Such companies must be sensi- tive to environmental concerns and the growing desire for greater energy ef?ciency. New players?like the recently combined multinationals and large state-owned companies looking to expand outside their home areas?are preparing for those tasks. So are we. ExxonMobil is putting the peo- ple and resources together to get the job done. ExonMobi? ?1999 Exxon Mobil Corporation Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.