Oil industry group to hold 'citizen rallies'

The leading trade association for oil and gas companies is ramping up its public advocacy campaign this summer ahead of congressional debate this fall that includes efforts to clamp down on tax benefits for the industry.
 
The American Petroleum Institute (API) will hold a series of “citizen rallies” starting Sept. 1 with events in three Texas cities — Houston, Corpus Christi and Beaumont. API will partner with local energy and other business groups that they hope will translate into correspondence with lawmakers. While details are not yet firm, future rallies are tentatively planned to occur in Ohio, Illinois, Colorado and New Mexico.
 
“Clearly, as an industry, we are doing more outreach than perhaps we have historically,” API President and CEO Jack Gerard said in a conference call with reporters. "Americans want to know that the government is working on constructing solutions to the challenges we all face, jobs and economic recovery. From an energy perspective we don't think that's happening.”

The message is the important role the oil and gas industry plays in the domestic economy, he said. “And so the more people understand the implications of energy production, job creation … we believe the better off we’ll all be,” Gerard said.
 
With climate change and other energy issues taking a back seat, the focus on Capitol Hill this fall will continue to be ways to respond to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which includes a variety of ideas to increase industry liability responsibilities for spills as well as pay for Democratic initiatives aimed at promoting “green jobs” at least in part by scaling back oil and gas industry tax incentives.
 
Two ideas that have been floated include exempting oil and gas companies from a section 199 manufacturing tax credit and reducing the tax deduction companies can claim on foreign earned income.
 
The tax incentives Democrats are going after largely mirror those Obama included in his fiscal 2011 budget request. His budget proposal raises taxes by about $40 billion on oil and gas companies by closing several loopholes used by the industry.