Energy Today - February 9, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted February 9, 2011
The Hill: Oil-and-gas companies are being vilified in tax debate, trade group says: After recently being branded "yesterday's energy" by President Obama, the oil-and-gas industry is pushing back at Democratic efforts to roll back tax credits and deductions used by energy companies. Top officials at the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday said the oil-and-gas industry does not receive favorable tax treatment and called on the administration and Congress to work with the sector to create jobs. "We really believe we are the low-hanging fruit," said Marty Durbin, the institute's executive vice president for government affairs. "If the opportunity is provided for us to safely and reliably produce our domestic resources here at home, you'd see enormous benefits to the government in terms of revenue, enormous benefits in terms of jobs." AP: Committee begins hearings on Parnell oil tax plan: More than 5 billion barrels of oil remain on Alaska's North Slope but that's just a fraction of the total oil volume in the state, Revenue Commissioner Bryan Butcher said Monday. Butcher said the fact that "easy" oil has been found and harder-to-get-at and heavy or viscous oil remain untapped underscores the need for the state to sweeten the incentives for companies to invest. To that end, Gov. Sean Parnell has proposed expanded tax breaks and cutting oil production taxes. The latter is estimated to cost the state more than $5 billion in revenue over five years but Parnell has said he wants to grow the economy and not necessarily the government savings account. He has noted the state has more than $11 billion in savings. The House Resources Committee, which held its first hearing on Parnell's proposal Monday, expects to spend several weeks on the issue. Co-chair Eric Feige, R Chickaloon, said there's the possibility the trans-Alaska pipeline won't be able to stay in production within a decade if the Legislature does not take steps to help boost oil production.
The Foundry: Offshore Drilling and the Federal Deficit: For all the talk about job creation and deficit reduction, the Obama administration continues to ignore one solution to accomplish both: offshore oil drilling. As the de facto drilling moratorium continues to shackle the Gulf coast region, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is determined to hold the administration accountable for what is more than just a regional issue. The day after President Obama's Interior Department was held in contempt of court for refusing to lift the moratorium, Vitter wrote to David Hayes, deputy secretary at the Interior Department, demanding that he properly assess the financial damage caused by the moratorium and the liability of the federal government.
Additional Resources:
Market Watch: Brawl looms over energy tax proposals
The Hill: OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Republicans v. EPA battle goes public