All Posts from February, 2011
Taking a look at our 10-K
Today, we filed our annual Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This document provides valuable information to investors about the financial and operating strength of our company. The report contains everything from data on production volumes and acreage to financial statements and summaries for key business segments. Unfortunately, from time to time, individuals from media or politics use the data out of context, which can lead to distortions.
New oil spill commission report contradicts “systemic” conclusions
A report released yesterday by the chief counsel of the presidential commission on the Deepwater Horizon accident gives us further insight into the causes of the Macondo well blowout and subsequent rig explosion. In reviewing the detail of the report, it is clear that despite what the commission said in its original report released in January, what happened at Macondo was not evidence of “systemic failures” by industry and government regulators.
Marine Well Containment Company makes strides to restore confidence in the Gulf
The tragic events of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill that took place last summer in the Gulf of Mexico shouldn’t have happened. I’ve talked about this issue at length in previous posts, but it bears repeating that our industry’s experience is that when you follow established procedures and practices, incidents like the Deepwater Horizon do not happen – and haven’t happened in more than 14,000 deepwater wells drilled worldwide.
Picking winners and losers in the 2012 budget
On Monday, the Administration released its budget request for fiscal year 2012. Unfortunately, the Administration is proposing almost $90 billion in tax hikes for the oil and natural gas industry, albeit under the guise of “eliminating subsidies to fossil fuels” in an attempt to gain popular support for this measure. This misleading rhetoric not only ignores the contributions of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry to America’s economic and energy security – but it also ignores the negative impact that higher industry taxes could have on consumers.
Yet another attempt to undermine the nation’s energy industry
There’s a letter making the rounds this week in Washington from a number of Democratic Senators, asking for congressional support to remove tax provisions that help enable the oil and natural gas industry to create jobs and contribute billions in tax revenues to federal, state and local governments across the nation. While the letter wasn’t sent to ExxonMobil, I think it’s important to address the claims made in it, for two reasons: first, because they are incorrect; and second, because punishing successful companies won’t do anything to help restore our economy.
Putting our earnings in context
We announced our 2010 results yesterday, and while much of the coverage focused on the headline earnings of $30 billion, I want to share some other key numbers to help put it in perspective.
