Board Casts Wary Eye At Washington

摘要

Following a relatively successful session of the Texas Legislature for the oil and gas industry, board members of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers are guardedly optimistic about the modest recovery from the 2008-09 price slide, says Alliance President Alex Mills.rnBut that optimism is tempered by congressional debate about possibly eliminating exploration and production tax incentives, Mills adds.rn"Higher oil prices are benefiting us this fall, but the proposed elimination on the federal level of expensing for intangible drilling costs and removing the deduction for percentage depletion could potentially kill the domestic industry," Mills asserts. "Independents need to be able to raise capital. We need tax incentives to help attract outside investors and offset business risks. I think we have a 50-50 chance of holding onto percentage depletion and IDCs."