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All Posts from August, 2010

Getting something in return

Posted: August 30, 2010 by Ken Cohen

I’ve talked a lot on this blog about proposed changes to the U.S. federal tax code, and how punitive taxes would undermine American job creation and energy security. Many Americans may not fully realize how significant ExxonMobil’s tax contribution is and what it means to the American economy. A few comparisons might help.

David Sandalow, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for policy and international affairs, said in a Huffington Post article about electric vehicles on Tuesday that “It’s strange that we are utterly dependent on [gasoline] for mobility.” But in a market-based economy, it’s not “strange” that petroleum-based products remain the transportation fuel of choice; it’s a century of real-world economics.


Only the most fiscally fit companies can survive in the intensely competitive global marketplace for energy. But a new study by IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA) and Deloitte paints a troubling picture of how federal tax rules – and pending tax legislation – are weakening the ability of U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies to compete against international companies.

An interesting opinion piece posted on Ethical Corporation’s website says that the Deepwater Horizon disaster has prompted soul-searching among members of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) community, and should spur reforms to the way in which companies are determined to be “responsible.”


Here are a couple quick news items related to offshore drilling safety that I thought you might be interested in. Yesterday’s USA Today featured a report from Julie Schmit, who visited our Hoover Diana offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Also, our vice president of engineering, Sara Ortwein, led an industry review of our recently announced rapid-response oil spill containment system during a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management hearing yesterday in New Orleans.

Long-winded

Posted: August 4, 2010 by Ken Cohen

Andrew Sharpless’ recent op-ed on wind power subsidies is long on rhetoric but short on facts. Let me get one thing straight – I have nothing against wind power. But to claim that our government upholds “unfair policies that favor Big Oil” – and largely neglects renewables like wind – is simply false.


  • Worth a deeper look...