All Posts from May, 2011
Backing “fracking”: U.K. study confirms safety of shale gas production
A new study from the U.K. backs up what industry experts and others have been saying for years: that the hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) process used to produce shale gas and some other types of natural gas does not pose undue risks to the environment. The study was produced by the U.K. Parliament’s House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee.
Numbers that count: ExxonMobil’s 2010 Citizenship Report
As one of the world’s leading energy companies, ExxonMobil has a clear responsibility to safely and reliably supply the energy that helps meet growing global needs. But our responsibilities don’t end there. Our operations span six continents, and our employees live and work in communities around the world. How we interact with and support these communities is critical to how we measure our performance as a global, corporate citizen.
A $1 trillion contribution to the national economy
Debates continue about ways to reduce the deficit, create jobs, and jump-start the U.S. economy. One important way to approach the issue is focusing on our nation’s strengths, and how we can build upon them. And one of our strengths is our world-class oil and natural gas industry.
With its Sunday editorial, The New York Times continues the campaign to eliminate – only for the U.S. oil industry – standard deductions that are available to all industries and manufacturers. This is arbitrary, discriminatory and misinformed.
Our chairman and CEO, Rex Tillerson, appeared yesterday with other industry executives at the Senate Finance Committee hearing “Oil and Gas Tax Incentives and Rising Energy Prices.” Just from this title, you can see the issue at the center of this debate. Some in Washington are trying to connect industry taxes with gas prices; so, they reason that taking away legitimate, economy-wide tax deductions for ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and ConocoPhillips will somehow make gas prices go down.
ExxonMobil’s U.S. taxes and U.S. earnings – Some relevant numbers for Washington
In trying to justify tax increases on oil companies, politicians like to use big numbers. They talk about our worldwide earnings, which we reported last week were $10.7 billion during the first quarter of 2011. They do that to make the case that we shouldn’t receive economy-wide tax deductions, such as one I’ve written about before that’s in place to support manufacturing jobs in the United States, or another that prevents U.S. companies from paying double taxation on income earned outside the country. Their argument is that because we had strong worldwide earnings, that we’re somehow not paying our fair share of taxes. Well, let me give you some quick numbers to help you decide.
