But Gulden has also been quietly juggling a second identity, one she never could have imagined just a few years ago: Enemy of ExxonMobil, the country’s largest oil company.

Oil giant ExxonMobil is eyeing a community southwest of Houston, Texas for a multi-billion-dollar plastics plant.

Exxon Mobil Corporation’s XOM Australian unit and Woodside Energy have approved the final investment decision for the Turrum Phase 3 project, a $221 million initiative aimed at tapping ...