Federal dollars continue to flow toward oil companies that are earning record profits and fueling our
oil addiction. This analysis of the tax code and federal budget reveals that oil companies are
slated to receive more than $32.9 billion in handouts from taxpayers over the next five years.
This figure includes tax benefits, royalty relief, research and development subsidies and accounting
gimmicks that benefit the oil industry.
The figure could dramatically increase over the next 25 years if current tax breaks are extended and if oil companies win a lawsuit seeking to avoid paying up to $53 billion in royalty revenue for offshore drilling. Congress should act immediately to end these giveaways to the oil and gas industry.
Oil Company Earnings Skyrocket after 2005 Energy Bill
Big oil companies are swimming in a sea of record-breaking profits at the American public's
expense. In 2006, the world's biggest oil companies reported a combined $119 billion in profits. In
2007, this total rose to $123 billion.
Federal Handouts Lavish Billions on Oil and Gas Companies
Despite earning record profits, oil and gas companies continue to benefit from billions in handouts
courtesy of American taxpayers.
Between tax incentives, royalty relief, research and development subsidies and accounting gimmicks, these companies will receive more than $32.9 billion from the federal government over the next five years. The companies are receiving additional subsidies from federally funded international institutions.
Oil and Gas Tax Breaks
The federal tax code contains more than $23.2 billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas industry over
the next five years. This total represents the creation of seven new tax breaks in the Energy Policy
Act of 2005 in addition to a host of incentives that existed prior to passage of that bill. Unless
otherwise noted, the cost of the tax breaks come from the Joint Committee on Taxation's Estimates
of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2007-2011.
+ Oil and gas percentage depletion allowance
Created in 1916, this incentive allows independent oil companies to deduct 15 percent of their
sales revenue to reflect the declining value of their investment. This flat deduction bears little
resemblance to the actual loss in value over time and companies often end up deducting more
than the value of their initial investment. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 modified the percentage
depletion, expanding the credit by allowing refiners whose average daily production remains less
than 75,000 barrels, instead of 50,000 barrels, to claim it. This tax break will cost $5.9 billion
over five years.
+ Manufacturing tax deduction for oil and gas companies
In 2004, Congress passed H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The intent of the
bill was to bring U.S. export subsidies into compliance with global trade laws. During the
legislative process, provisions were added to the bill that classified oil and natural gas production
as a manufactured good. The change allowed oil and gas companies to claim billions of dollars
of new tax deductions, effectively lowering their tax rate. Initial estimates provided to Sen. John
Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) by the Joint Committee on Taxation
estimated that reclassification would cost the federal government approximately $3.5 billion over
the next 5 years under this deduction.4 However, efforts to change this tax benefit, most recently
as a part of the H.R. 5351 "The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008,"
indicate that denying oil and gas companies this deduction could raise more than $5.1 billion in
revenue.
+ Intangible drilling costs
Integrated oil companies such as ExxonMobil are allowed to immediately deduct 70 percent of
"intangible drilling costs" such as the cost of wages, supplies, and site preparation, rather than
capitalizing them. Smaller, independent oil and gas producers are allowed to immediately deduct
all of their intangible drilling costs. This tax break will cost $3.5 billion over five years.
+ Deductions for foreign tax
The tax code provides a loophole that allows oil and gas companies to under report their taxable
foreign income. Foreign countries are converting traditional royalty payments into income tax
payments. The U.S. tax code allows approximately 35 percent of a royalty payment to be
deducted as a standard business expense. Foreign income tax payments can be deducted at
100 percent. Congress has considered several efforts to modify this deduction over the past 2
years. According to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation, modifying the
deduction would have raised $3 billion over the next five years.
+ Expensing for refining equipment
This tax break was created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and allows companies to deduct 50
percent of the cost of certain equipment used at oil refineries to refine liquid fuels. This tax
break will cost $2.1 billion over five years.
+ Enhanced Oil Recovery
This tax break provides oil and gas companies with a 15 percent income tax credit to increase
the production oil and gas production from older wells. to qualify for the credit, companies can
force water, steam, carbon dioxide or other chemicals into the reservoir to force the harder to
obtain oil and gas out of the well. This tax break will cost almost $1.7 billion over five years.
+ Geological and geophysical expenditures
This tax break was created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and allows companies to deduct the
costs associated with searching for oil, amortizing the costs over a two-year period. Companies
would still be eligible for this deduction even if they discover oil and gas. The credit, which the
Joint Committee on Taxation scored at $800 million over five years, was modified in H.R. 4297,
the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005. The modification increased the
time that integrated oil companies could deduct geological and geophysical expenditures from 2
years to 5 years.7 Given the changes, the tax break is now expected to cost $1.1 billion
over the next five years.
+ Natural gas distribution lines
This tax break was created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and accelerates the rate at which
companies can deduct the cost of natural gas distribution pipelines, reducing the depreciation
time from 20 years to 15 years. This tax break will cost $522 million over five years.
+ Passive Loss
This tax break allows owners and investors in oil and gas properties to use loses from the oil and
gas business to shelter other income. This tax break will cost $130 million over five years.
+ Small Refiners Deduction
Originally created in H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, and later modified by
the Energy Policy Act of 2005, this tax break allows small refiners to deduct 75 percent of their
capital costs to comply with new Environmental Protection Agency sulfur rules, and als- provides
a $2.10 credit per barrel of low sulfur diesel fuel produced. The deduction was expanded in the
energy bill to allow the tax benefits to be passed through to members of a cooperative. This tax
break will cost $100 million over five years.
+ Exemption from bond arbitrage rules
The provision was created in Energy Policy Act of 2005 and exempts prepayments for natural
gas from tax-exempt bond arbitrage rules. This tax break will cost $18 million over five
years.
+ Natural gas gathering lines
This tax break was created in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and accelerates the rate at which
companies can deduct the cost of natural gas gathering lines, establishing a 7-year depreciation
recovery period. This tax break will cost $10 million over five years.11
Royalty Holidays
Companies drilling for oil and natural gas in public waters and on public lands typically pay royalties,
or a percentage of the revenue they generate, to the government. These royalties provide needed
resources to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Historic Preservation Trust Fund, oil-producing
states and the federal treasury. Schemes that relieve oil companies of their obligation to pay
these royalties will cost taxpayers at least $3.8 billion over the next five years. Shortoterm and
longer-term costs to taxpayers could balloon significantly as a result of an initial oil industry lawsuit
win that would eliminate provisions in oil and gas contracts that limit royalty relief through the
inclusion of price thresholds.
+ Royalty Relief: 1995 Deep Water Royalty Relief Act
Between 1996 and 2000, the Interior Department awarded offshore drilling leases to companies
drilling for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Leases awarded in 1998 and 1999 failed to
include "price thresholds," a critical safety valve that ensures royalty relief will end when prices
rise above a certain amount. The failure to include the price thresholds already costs taxpayers
$1 billion in foregone royalty revenue. Using Minerals Management Service data, Friends of the
Earth calculated that over the next five years oil and gas companies drilling in the Gulf of
Mexic- will receive approximately $3.8 billion in royalty relief.
This number is likely to dramatically increase as a result of the successful lawsuit filed by the
company Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas, now owned by Anadark- Petroleum Company, challenging
the legality of price thresholds in deep-water leases issued between 1996 and 2000. A June
2008 letter from the Government Accountability Office14 estimated that as a result of the
successful lawsuit the federal government could lose as much as $53 billion over the next 25
years if the lawsuit victory is upheld.
+ Royalty Relief: Energy Policy Act of 2005
Despite massive losses to taxpayers expected as a result of royalty relief included in past
offshore drilling leases, Congress enacted additional royalty relief provisions in the 2005 Energy
Bill. The following provisions will allow oil and gas companies to negotiate new leases with the
federal government that allow them to drill without paying royalties. An estimate of the future
benefits the oil industry will gain as a result of these provisions does not currently exist,
but in order to prevent future taxpayer losses Congress should repeal the provisions:
– Royalty-in-Kind Payments
Section 342 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 codifies the royalty-in-kind payment scheme
sought by oil and gas producers in which the federal government is paid in oil and gas
instead of cash.
– Relief for marginal producers
Section 343 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides royalty relief for "marginal property" oil
and gas production that produces less than 15 barrels a day when prices fall below $15 a
barrel.
– Relief for deep wells in shallow waters of the Outer Continental Shelf
Section 344 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides royalty relief for natural gas production
from deep wells (greater than 15,000 feet) in shallow waters (less than 400 meters) of the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Gulf of Mexico. The provision grants royalty relief for
leases of n- less than 35 billion cubic feet, subject to price thresholds.
– Relief for deep water wells in the Gulf of Mexico
Section 345 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 continues the federal government's
commitment to provide oil and gas companies royalty relief when they drill in waters in the
Gulf of Mexic- deeper than 400 meters.
– Relief for offshore production in Alaska
Section 346 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 expands the Outer Continental Lands Act to
encompass offshore oil and gas development in Alaska. The expansion will allow Alaska
drillers to receive royalty relief for oil and gas production.
– Relief for methane gas hydrates in the Outer Continental Shelf and Alaska
Section 353 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides royalty relief to oil and gas companies
seeking energy from methane gas hydrates. Methane gas hydrates are essentially methane
trapped in ice, and can be found in the outer continental shelf and in cold regions such as
Alaska. The provision provides royalty relief for up to 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas per
lease, and is offered in addition to current royalty relief on leases not receiving specific
methane gas hydrate relief.
– Relief for enhanced oil and natural gas production
Section 354 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 offers royalty relief to oil and gas companies
operating wells on shore and at the outer continental shelf that inject carbon dioxide into
older, less productive wells. The provision provides royalty relief for up to 5 million barrels of
oil per lease. The royalty relief in this provision is in addition to the enhanced oil recovery tax
credit, which provides companies with a 15 percent credit for the cost of enhanced oil
recovery.
International Oil and Gas Subsidies
The United States is not only the most oil-addicted nation on the planet, we are als- the largest
pusher. Since 2000, the US Government has been the top provider of international subsidies to the
oil industry. According to an Oil Change International report, more than $15.6 billion has been
provided to the oil industry by Congress and distributed via the US ExportoImport Bank, the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the US Trade and Development Agency, the US Agency
for International Development, and the United States Maritime Administration.16 Often these funds
are provided in the name of "development assistance" and "poverty alleviation", although
international oil projects typically exacerbate poverty for local residents.
In addition, The World Bank Group, in which the US government is the largest shareholder, has
provided roughly more than $8 billion in project support and other subsidies for the oil industry since
2000. Disturbingly, the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Financial Corporation
(IFC), increased its lending for fossil fuel projects by a staggering 165 percent in FY2008. Taken as
a whole, the World Bank Group increased its fossil fuel lending by 60 percent in the same period.
Oil and Gas Research and Development Subsidies
Despite substantial oil and gas company investment in research and development programs,
Congress is pumping more than $1.6 billion into research and development.
+ Oil Technology Research and Development Program
The oil and gas industry received an estimated $25 million in fiscal year 2008 through the
U.S. Department of Energy's Oil Technology Research and Development Program. The
program focuses on the exploration and production of crude oil in the United States with
goals including the promotion and enhancement of oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic and the
Powder River Basin in Wyoming. ExxonMobil alone spent $600 million in research and
development in 2004.18 Section 965 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 contains additional
authorizations for the program. Over the next five years, this provision would cost $100
million.
+ Ultra-deepwater drilling research and development subsidy
This provision was added to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 conference report after the
conference committee was gaveled closed. It creates a $1.5 billion oil research and
development program for ultra-deepwater drilling, benefiting an oil consortium in former-
Representative Tom DeLay's home district of Sugarland, TX.
Accounting Gimmicks
For more than 70 years, the oil and gas companies have used an accounting method known as "last
in, first out," or "LIFO," to minimize their tax liability. Using LIF- accounting, oil companies can sell
the last oil (and currently most expensive) placed into their reserves first, before selling longer-held
and cheaper reserves. By using this method, in the current environment of high oil prices
companies are able to minimize the value of their reserves and therefore their tax burden. The
Senate Finance Committee included a provision in S. 2020, the Tax Relief Act of 2005, that would
have repealed this form of accounting for major oil companies. Unfortunately, this provision did not
make it into the final tax reconciliation bill. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that
repealing the LIF- accounting method for major oil companies would have raised $4.3
billion.
