“America First” is the mantra that guided Donald Trump during his entire presidential campaign.

Ironically, Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for the top post in his cabinet, took a decidedly different approach as he led America’s largest oil cmpany.

During Tillerson’s decade in charge, ExxonMobil (XOM) was more focused on pumping oil in far-flung places like Russia and the deepwaters off Africa to see the revolutionary U.S. shale oil boom that was happening right at home. In the process, Exxon didn’t embrace one of the biggest influxes of energy jobs that the country has ever seen.

“Exxon missed out on shale. They dismissed it, didn’t take it seriously,” said Fadel Gheit, a veteran energy analyst who covers Exxon at Oppenheimer.

Tillerson, who is leaving after a decade in charge, has admitted Exxon was late to the shale party.

“What’s gone on here in North America, has been, I think, nothing short of extraordinary. And I would be less than honest if I were to say to you we saw it all coming, because we did not, quite frankly,” Tillerson said in a June 2012 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Tillerson said Exxon “grossly underestimated” the amount of shale oil in the U.S. and new technology’s ability to affordably pump it. In many ways, ExxonMobil (XOM) CEO’s legacy is tainted by his failure to believe in the American energy revolution.

All of this means Exxon did not fully participate in the oil jobs boom either. Goldman Sachs has estimated that the shale oil and gas revolution created roughly 233,000 jobs between mid-2009 and late 2014.

Exxon does not break out how many of its 73,500 employees as of the end of 2015 are in the U.S. versus overseas. However, Exxon’s total number of workers fell by 5,400, or 7%, between 2009 and 2014, while the U.S. oil jobs boom was taking place. Exxon trimmed another 1,800 jobs last year, as oil prices fell.

It stands to reason that by missing out on shale and focusing overseas, Exxon did more hiring in foreign countries like Nigeria, Russia, Canada and Kazakhstan than in the Bakken oilfields of North Dakota or deep in Texas.

That’s another irony given Trump’s shaming of Ford (F), Carrier (UTX), and other U.S. companies for shipping jobs overseas.

In a statement, Exxon noted that it is the largest U.S. producer of natural gas and has invested billions of dollars along the Gulf Coast.

“These investments will not only expand refining and chemical manufacturing capacity, but also bring economic growth and create jobs,” Exxon said. Specifically, Exxon said an expansion of its Beaumont polyethylene plant could create more than 28,000 temporary construction jobs and more than 1,200 permanent jobs over the next few years.

Still, Tillerson’s focus on searching for oil in Russia and elsewhere also runs counter to Trump’s promise for “complete American energy independence.”

“America’s incredible energy potential remains untapped. It’s a wound that is totally self-inflicted,” Trump said in a May speech. “Imagine a world in which our foes, and the oil cartels, can no longer use energy as a weapon.” Trump blamed President Obama for keeping America “dependent on others.”

Tillerson seems to have a different view here. The Exxon man said in his 2012 speech that some fears about energy security are “not well-founded in fact.” As long as it’s reliable, Tillerson said “where it comes from should be of little consequence to us.”

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/15/investing/tillerson-trump-exxon-shale-oil-america-first/index.html