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Obama budget hits oil, gas cos with new fees,taxes

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WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Thursday proposed raising at least $31.5 billion over 10 years from oil and gas companies, reflecting a repeal of tax breaks for domestic production and new charges on oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

The plans, outlined as part of a fiscal 2010 budget proposal, revive long-standing Democratic efforts to turn to the oil and gas industry as a source of funding for other priorities. Among other things, the Obama budget plan calls for about $13 billion over 10 years in new charges on oil and gas companies from the repeal of a tax deduction for domestic production.

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Voyage to doomed Titanic an emotional trip for diver

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BY PATRICIA A. MILLER

Richie Kohler thought he would be prepared for the moment when the Titanic first loomed in front of him, just 3 feet from the Russian Mir submersible he was cocooned in.

He wasn’t.

“When I saw it for the first time, all I could say was this is unbelievable,” the Brick Township resident said. “It took me hours to regain my composure.”

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Oceaneering wins NASA space suit contract

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HOUSTON — Oceaneering International Inc.’s space systems unit has been awarded a contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop a new space suit for solar system exploration.

The Houston engineering company, which specializes in deep sea diving suits, and its team bid for the Constellation Space Suit System contract last December after previously winning and losing a NASA space suit contract back in August.

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Australia: More divers needed for aquaculture

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Aquaculture is a major growth industry in South Australia, but a lack of accredited commercial divers is creating problems for operators.

Australia’s largest off-shore producer of farmed greenlip abalone, Australian Bight Abalone, employs 25 commercial divers to tend aquaculture leases near Elliston, on the Eyre Peninsula, but needs to double this number by the end of the year, company operations manager Bill Bascomb says.

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Nigerian militants warn of more helicopter attacks

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LAGOS — Nigerian militants warned on Thursday of attacks on any helicopters being used by the oil industry to transport soldiers in the Niger Delta, a day after a helicopter travelling to an oil facility was hit by gunfire. 

The Sikorsky 76 was flying between the Ogbainbiri and Tebidaba oil flow stations operated by Italian energy firm Agip when it was shot at on Wednesday, wounding one passenger. The aircraft later landed safely back at its base. 

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the main militant group in the region, did not claim direct responsibility for the attack but said in an emailed statement that it should act as a warning.

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Big oil again pushes congress to open offshore acreage

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WASHINGTON — Big Oil once again pushed U.S. lawmakers to open up the Outer Continental Shelf to oil and gas development, arguing Wednesday that resource estimates could be multiplied if the federal government would expand offshore drilling access.

Although a moratorium on offshore drilling expired last year in the face of political pressure fueled by high energy prices, Democratic leaders in Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration are prioritizing alternative, low-carbon energy and have indicated they’ll restore bans in many areas.

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Nigeria strives to lift local content in oil industry

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ABUJA  — Nigeria wants more local content in its mainstay oil and gas industry, but a lack of skills training and shambolic infrastructure mean it is struggling to provide the white-collar manpower or materials the sector needs. 

Government officials say Africa’s biggest energy industry has not provided enough domestic job growth in the five decades since oil was first pumped, as foreign firms employ expatriate executives and purchase supplies and materials from overseas.

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Bolivian president accuses US CIA of corrupting state oil firm

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Eric Watkins OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor

 

LOS ANGELES — The investigation into corruption at Bolivia’s state-run oil company has taken a bizarre turn, with the Bolivian president and other government officials now claiming involvement by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

“Unfortunately there has been a CIA presence in Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos [YPFB], and some of our colleagues have been caught by this foreign infiltration,” said Morales, referring to the arrest of his friend and former YPFB president, Santos Ramirez.

Local media said Morales gave no evidence of the involvement of the CIA, but quoted him as saying he could give details and names.

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California US House members offer contrasting OCS proposals

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two US House members from California presented dramatically different viewpoints as the Natural Resources Committee focused on state perspectives in its second 2009 Outer Continental Shelf hearing on Feb. 24.

Democrat Sam Farr, whose district includes the Monterey Peninsula, said moratoriums should be reinstated while Congress develops a comprehensive ocean resources management strategy. Republican Dana Rohrabacher, whose district farther south includes parts of Long Beach, said domestic offshore energy resources could significantly contribute to a US economic recovery.

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Obama's proposed budget would repeal oil, gas tax breaks

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Nick Snow OGJ Washington Editor

The Obama administration has proposed eliminating what it termed “oil and gas company preferences” as it released its proposed fiscal 2010 federal budget on Feb. 26. The move would raise nearly $31.48 billion of revenue by fiscal 2019, it said.

In the budget’s mandatory and receipts proposal table, it called for the repeal of the manufacturing tax deduction for oil and gas companies, which it said would raise an estimated $13.29 billion over 10 years, and the percentage depletion allowance, which it said would raise some $8.25 billion during that period.

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