Rigzone is reporting:
At
a time when money is tight and spending cuts are front and center in
Congress, the oil and gas industry is proving to be a boon to public
sector coffers.
A combination of fees and royalty payments worth more
than $14.2 billion – the second-highest amount ever – has been paid to
the federal government by oil and gas companies that drilled on public
lands or U.S. waters during the fiscal year ending on October 1, 2013, according
to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.
The bounty, which was collected by the Interior Department, was $2
billion above year-earlier levels. Some of the increase can in part be
chalked up to a combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal
drilling that has led the current boom in onshore drilling and the Gulf
of Mexico.
The rise in fees is also associated with a government decision dating
back six years ago to increase offshore royalty rates to help fund
conservation programs and local governments.
Finally, the rise in revenues paid by the oil and gas sector reflects
how bonus bids from oil and gas auctions in the Gulf of Mexico were
recorded by the government in 2012 and 2013.
Okay, one comment: how much did the Interior Department receive in fees and royalty payments from wind and solar energy?
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