“I am not interested in participating with any advocacy effort led by” Exxon, wrote Krista Johnson, Shell’s head of US government relations, in a July 2021 email to Gretchen Watkins, president of Shell USA.The plan was to install equipment to remove carbon dioxide from smokestacks at the region’s largest power plants, refineries, and other industrial operations before it reached the atmosphere.Watkins, in her August 2021 email, said “I fully support our engagement” with potential carbon capture investments in the United States, but advised steering clear of Exxon’s public announcement.Another email, from Marnie Funk, a senior adviser for government relations at Shell, said that Chevron was “internally divided” on whether to join Exxon’s effort, with “Some minor unease in some Chevron quarters about Exxon reputational concerns.” Funk also said Chevron viewed Exxon’s claims about how much carbon dioxide the project could capture, and how many jobs it could create, as “inflated—but harmless inflation.” Chevron and Shell declined to comment for this article.Todd Spitler, an Exxon spokesman, declined to comment on Shell’s internal discussions, but said in an email that “The House Oversight Committee report has sought to misrepresent ExxonMobil’s position on climate science, and its support for effective policy solutions, by recasting well intended, internal policy debates as an attempted company disinformation campaign.” He added, “Our CEO has testified under oath on this subject during two all-day Congressional hearings before two separate committees, we’ve been in regular communication with the committee for over a year, and have provided staff with more than one million pages of documents, including board materials and internal communications.” Beyond the drama between companies, the documents released by the committee also shed light on the oil industry’s sustained efforts to promote carbon capture and storage."