A year ago, if you asked Rex Tillerson if he wanted a government job, the ExxonMobil chief executive officer would have joked that he is unqualified.

At least that's what the oil magnate did at the Economic Club of Washington during a Q-and-A session led by David Rubenstein, founder of the club as well as the Carlyle Group, a leading private equity firm. Rubenstein is the husband of Alice Rogoff, publisher of Alaska's largest newspaper.

"I take it you're not in town to interview for a government job," Rubenstein said during the March 12, 2015 event. "You wouldn't be a candidate to work in government?"

Laughter erupted from crowd, which included Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Ivanovich Kislyak, according to a comment from the club's host.

Tillerson, now a leading candidate to become President-elect Donald Trump's secretary of state, quipped that he is "probably not qualified" for government service. More laughter followed that assessment.

The energy industry leader elaborated on his perception of Beltway politics: "It's stunning to me how often people look at me and they say, 'Well you know, you just don't understand this place,'" he said. "I've been coming to this place for 30 years, working with our government trying to formulate good policies. I do understand this place. It is something that confuses me. It's something I don't understand about how we got to where we are and why we're here. It's in no one's interest."

His latter comment described frustration with gridlock over the Keystone Pipeline, and overall his speech touched on an array of subjects: how government should interact with the energy industry, the way his company interacts with emerging democracies, and the role renewable energy plays in today's economy.

"Renewables by and large exist in our portfolio today because of government mandate," he said. "They don't exist because they're fundamentally commercial."

Watch the Economic Club of Washington's full event with Tillerson below. The Q-and-A, when he jokes that he is "probably not qualified" for government service, begins at 26:30. A discussion of Arctic oil begins at 56:20.

GOOD NEWS FOR ALASKA?

The State Department directs foreign policy and rarely takes a leading role on issues surrounding resource development, but Cabinet members can have the president's ear on an array of issues, and the foreign policy agency does sometimes play a direct role in energy issues, as it did with Keystone: brokering international agreements on carbon emissions, permitting for pipelines that cross land borders or oceans, and with efforts to combat climate change.

Because of his background, Tillerson is met with enthusiasm from some political corners in Alaska.

Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, chairs the Senate Resources Committee: "It bodes well for business," she said of Tillerson being nominated. "It bodes well for Alaska."

What exactly it means is unclear, she said.

But with a multibillion dollar budget deficit induced by low oil prices, there certainly is a bucket list of infrastructure and energy projects state officials would like to see accomplished with the help of federal leaders.

Gov. Bill Walker for one said he looks forward to working with the Trump administration to "build Alaska’s economy and gain responsible access to our natural resources," his office wrote in an emailed statement.

"This includes, but is not limited to, our abundant commercial fishing, world-class mining, off-shore drilling, and the construction of a natural gas pipeline," the governor added.

But when it comes to a Alaska LNG Project, the latest of many efforts to connect massive North Slope natural gas reserves to market, that is a likely point of contention between Tillerson and Alaska's governor.

'THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY'

Two years ago when Walker assumed office and modified the state's effort to accomplish a natural gas pipeline, Tillerson lashed back in an interview with Energy Intelligence Group.

"You can’t take a project that is going to take five, six, seven years to execute and require $50 billion to $60 billion of capital and decide every two years you’ve got a different way to do it," he said. "Alaska is their own worst enemy."

That is just one of many examples of tension between Walker and ExxonMobil.

On October 14, Walker sent a letter to ExxonMobil vice president Jim Flood decrying the company's disparaging remarks about the Alaska LNG Project.

"I have been highly complimentary of ExxonMobil while in the market," the governor wrote. The letter was first reported by Alaska Dispatch news. "I would ask ExxonMobil to do the same about the Alaska project. Please do not take steps to thwart Alaska's ability to monetize our gas. Alaskan residents and businesses pay the highest energy costs in the nation. With a $3.2 billion deficit, monetizing our gas is critical to Alaska's future."

Giessel, the state senator, said she believes the new role may change Tillerson's perspective and approach to many projects, including his position on AKLNG.

"When Mr. Tillerson was speaking before, he was speaking from the perspective of the CEO of an energy company, and so his perspective and his statement was reflecting that," Giessel said. "I would think that as secretary of state he would have a different, broader view, and he probably would not make a statement like that."