Australian mining and energy magnate Andrew Forrest has reacted with characteristic bravado to having been named in a defamation lawsuit launched in the US. 

ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, has accused California attorney general Rob Bonta, several US environmental groups and Forrest's Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund (IEFJ) (but not Forrest directly) of defamation and colluding to harm the company's prospects. 

The lawsuit argues that Forrest used US eNGOs, including the Sierra Club, Surfrider, Heal the Bay, and San Francisco Baykeeper, as his US proxies to launch lawsuits against ExxonMobil and its advanced plastic recycling ambitions. 

In a statement, Forrest said ExxonMobil's lawsuit was "right out of the oil & gas industry playbook." 

"I am personally delighted Exxon has walked themselves into the court and opened themselves up to cross-examination. 

"The fossil fuel industry is getting increasingly desperate to maintain its toxic grip on society. Their only priority is to maximise their profits and produce as much oil and gas as possible." 

ExxonMobil, in filings with a federal court in Texas, alleged the IEJF is really a subsidiary of Minderoo, Forrest's charitable organisation, which has campaigned for action to prevent climate change and for a levy on using fossil fuels to make plastic. 

The lawsuit accuses Forrest's charities of working to turn "the wheels of American justice to [Fortescue's] self-interested purposes." 

"Fortescue appears to have adopted a novel strategy for competing against American oil-and-gas producers like ExxonMobil," the court filings read. 

"It is also a case about the corrupting influence of foreign money in the American legal system and about the sordid for-profit incentives and outright greed that tries to hide behind so-called public impact litigation." 

Long battle

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in a long-running feud between Forrest—who founded the increasingly clean energy–focused Fortescue—and the oil and gas industry. 

Previous episodes in the war include when, in 2023, Forrest described Woodside CEO Meg O'Neill as having been "hard-edge trained by the biggest liar we've ever seen around climate change over the last 40 years, and that's ExxonMobil. 

"She's been parachuted in here, bringing in all ExxonMobil's ways…peddling poison all the time," he said. 

A spokesperson for Fortescue has refuted the claims it had orchestrated litigation against ExxonMobil for its advantage.  

"Fortescue remains fully committed to green hydrogen and the establishment of a global green hydrogen industry and rejects any claims to the contrary," he said. 

A statement from the California Justice Department said: "This is another attempt from ExxonMobil to deflect attention from its own unlawful deception. The attorney-general is proud to advance his lawsuit against ExxonMobil and looks forward to vigorously litigating this case in court." 

'Deceptive statements'

ExxonMobil claims Minderoo has made "several false and deceptive statements" about Exxon's plastics and recycling processes and alleges Minderoo, Fortescue and the IEFJ are inextricably linked. 

"The majority of the wealth used by Minderoo comes directly from its holdings in Fortescue. The IEJF and Minderoo share executives with Fortescue. All of which leads to the conclusion that the IEJF's interests are directly tied to those of Fortescue," the filings read. 

Minderoo said it had been "incorrectly referred to in the complaint as owning and controlling" the IEJF. "Minderoo is a philanthropy which is independent of the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund," it added.