Energy Today - April 29, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted April 29, 2011
ExxonMobil's Perspectives: ExxonMobil's Earnings: The Real Story You Won't Hear in Washington: Big numbers make headlines - like our announcement of $10.7 billion in earnings for the first quarter of 2011. What may not make the headlines is the context surrounding that number, so I thought I would share with you what I told reporters following the announcement: When crude oil prices increase it means higher earnings for oil companies, and more importantly for most Americans - higher gasoline prices. Rising crude and gasoline prices have a very real impact on household budgets across the nation. Gasoline is an essential product, and price rises are felt by families and businesses alike. Let me start by putting our earnings into context for U.S. motorists. ExxonMobil's earnings are from operations in more than 100 countries around the world. Bloomberg: Business Roundtable Urges EPA to Stop Greenhouse Gas Rules: The Washington-based association wants President Barack Obama's Environmental Protection Agency to scrap the rules for power plants and oil refineries, giving Congress time to craft legislation, according to an e-mailed statement today. The EPA rules are "an example of damaging regulatory overreach that threatens to stifle U.S. economic growth and job creation," Thomas Fanning, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co. (SO), a Roundtable member and the biggest U.S. utility owner by market value, said in the group's statement. The Chamber of Commerce, the biggest U.S. business lobbying group, Republican lawmakers and some Democrats also have called for blocking or delaying the EPA rules. White House aides said in a statement this month that they would recommend that Obama veto any legislation stripping the EPA of its power to regulate carbon-dioxide pollution under the Clean Air Act.
Trib Today: Report: We're No. 3 for Jobs: Nationally, 77 of the 100 largest metro areas in the country had job growth during the March to March period, according to the government figures. Dallas-Fort Worth topped the nation in total jobs created with 69,000, followed by Houston at 51,800. Those cities rely heavily on the oil and gas energy industry, which also is becoming a larger part of the Mahoning Valley's job picture, thanks to development of the nearby rich Marcellus Shale natural gas formation. Pipemaker V&M Star is employing more than 400 construction workers to build a high-tech seamless pipe mill in Youngstown, which is projected to employ about 350 when it starts making special pipe used in shale drilling.
Additional Resources:
Carpe Diem: QI: Exxon Paid Almost $1M per Hour in Income Taxes and Its Effective Tax Rate Was 42.3%
Tax Policy Blog: Bearing the Burden of Oil Industry Taxes
Shopfloor: When Oil Industry is Attacked, Public Pension Funds Feel the Pain