EnergyFactor By ExxonMobil | Pespectives has a new home

Tax Policy

In his State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to “keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits” because he recognizes the vast economic contributions our industry makes in terms of creating jobs, generating tax revenues and strengthening America’s energy security. But almost immediately after those remarks, one U.S. senator introduced legislation that would undercut the oil and gas industry’s ability to invest in and find new sources of energy.

A snapshot of ExxonMobil in 2012

Posted: February 1, 2013 by Ken Cohen

ExxonMobil’s year-end earnings were announced today, and our 2012 worldwide profit was $44.9 billion. Here are a few facts that you might want to consider when you hear some talking about increasing our taxes. The first is that ExxonMobil’s direct contribution to the U.S. economy in 2012 was $68 billion. That works out to $5.6 billion a month … $1.3 billion every week … or $186 million every single day in direct contributions to the American economy.


Targeting the oil and gas industry for higher taxes has become an annual event, and 2013 should be no exception. The fact is, though, that oil and gas companies already pay $86 million dollars every single day to the federal government in rents, royalties, bonus payments and income tax payments. More than that, when politicians talk about higher taxes for oil companies, chances are they’re really talking about taxing you.

A Constitutional lesson on exports

Posted: December 20, 2012 by Ken Cohen

As the public dialogue progresses on whether the federal government should restrict exports of natural gas, it’s important to note that our nation’s discussion of free trade goes back to its earliest days. The compromise on exports that emerged from the Constitutional Convention in 1787 has played a positive role in shaping America’s economic history – helping transform a loose affiliation of disparate colonies into a dynamic and innovative economic powerhouse.


Energy historian Daniel Yergin has a must-read piece in The Wall Street Journal that gives a big-picture view of the unconventional oil and gas revolution transforming the American economy. The Journal piece accompanies the recent publication of a report prepared by Yergin’s IHS consulting group that highlights the economic contribution of dramatically increased oil and gas production from unconventional sources like shale and tight rock. The numbers reported by Yergin and IHS are extraordinary.

With the U.S. economy continuing to struggle, it is more important than ever for our country to come together to discuss the best ways to boost the economy and help the more than 23 million Americans who are unemployed or under-employed. Punishing the U.S. energy industry is not the way to do it.



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