ExxonMobil came out this week with a bold announcement -- it would set aside $185 billion for new sources of oil/natural gas global exploration. What's in it for ExxonMobil? And more importantly, what's in it for the company's investors?

The move comes from the top brass at ExxonMobil, likely in recognition of just how difficult it’s getting to find new sources of fossil fuels.

Let’s face facts. Any slowdown in oil and gas exploration threatens the bottom lines of big oil companies like ExxonMobil, and would hurt the company’s stock ...