Democrats in the US Senate yesterday called for a temporary special tax on oil companies’ profits and a rollback of $17 billion in oil industry tax breaks as part of an energy package.
The proposed 25 percent profits tax would apply just to oil company earnings above what would be considered “reasonable” and only if those […]

Yesterday, New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer, went on TV to say that there are two words that are the key to lower gas prices: “Saudi” and “Arabia.” According to the state’s Senior Senator, the US should withhold arms deals until the Saudis increase oil production.

Kazakhstan is making the international oil majors twitchy by saying it may impose a crude oil export duty as soon as mid-2008 to stabilise supplies on the domestic market.
According to the Deputy Energy Minister Lyazzat Kiinov, the government is due to discuss the energy ministry’s draft proposals tomorrow, and set a date for sometime in […]

Oh the irony. For years President Bush has been intertwined with the oil industry.
For years his Administration has done everything in its power to give the industry tax breaks to bolster its profits. Urged by millions around the world to take the lead on climate change, Bush has instead been as sceptical as the dinosaurs […]

Great editorial in today’s New York Times, which argues that “One of the major shortcomings in last year’s admirable energy bill was its failure to extend vital tax credits to producers of wind, solar and other renewable fuels. This was entirely the doing of the Senate, which caved in to the oil companies and their […]