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   From: dumpster_democrats@nytimes.com   
      
   In article    
   lefty asswipes  wrote:   
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   > ...I spent all night taking it up the ass.   
      
   (Reuters) - U.S. oil producers profiting from sky-high prices   
   are doling out billions to shareholders and building cash   
   reserves, a strategy irking lawmakers and voters struggling with   
   record fuel prices while winning over Wall Street.   
      
   Soaring fuel prices have boosted inflation to a 40-year record   
   and are expected to drive up U.S. gasoline by more than a dollar   
   to $6 a gallon by August. That prospect has some officials   
   arguing the industry's focus on returns is benefiting a few at   
   the expense of consumers.   
      
   The tradeoff between rising payouts for just a single quarter   
   and more spending on production has deprived the market of   
   nearly half a million barrels of new oil daily, based on   
   Reuters' estimates of potential output if half of existing   
   investor payouts flowed to new oil and gas drilling.   
      
   Earnings from major U.S. shale, which accounts for two-thirds of   
   U.S. oil output, could hit $90 billion this year, up from $37   
   billion in 2021, according to consultancy BTU Analytics, a   
   FactSet Company. Its estimate covers only 32 publicly traded oil   
   and gas producers.   
      
   Executives are facing calls in Washington for windfall levies,   
   which could cut into energy profits. A group of more than 30   
   lawmakers recently urged a Congressional vote on a new oil tax.   
      
   U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday slammed oil companies, saying   
   they are intentionally holding off drilling more to pump up oil   
   and share prices. [nL1N2XX1VP]   
      
   "They're buying back their own stock, which should be taxed,   
   quite frankly," Biden said.   
      
   Executives and investors have argued that fuel prices are set by   
   the market and retailers, not producers. Materials and labor   
   shortages have limited how fast they can ramp up output, and to   
   spend a lot more on new drilling would erode capital efficiency   
   and lead investors to exit.   
      
   Though analysts and oil executives do not expect a windfall tax   
   to pass here, Britain recently imposed a 25% oil profit tax to   
   offset consumer energy bills, giving hope to some U.S. lawmakers   
   proposing the tax. And resistance to the tax may shrink as fuel   
   prices soar and corporate earnings follow.   
      
   "If the conservative government in the U.K. can support a   
   windfall tax, we should be able to pass" a U.S. equivalent, said   
   Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, and a co-   
   sponsor of the tax proposal.   
      
   The goal is to raise $45 billion a year with proceeds funding   
   payments to consumers.   
      
   But a windfall tax would kill the incentive to drill more, said   
   oil executives, and take away some of the earnings that fund new   
   technology advances that led to the U.S. shale revolution which   
   turned the United States into the world's top producer. It would   
   also lessen oil firms' ability to raise outside financing.   
      
   "This is a terrible idea," said Mike Oestmann, chief executive   
   of shale producer Tall City Exploration. "If you want less of   
   something, or some behavior, or some industry, tax it more   
   heavily."   
      
   PUMPING UP OUTPUT, NOT PRICES   
      
   Motivating windfall tax advocates is the idea that U.S. energy   
   companies are holding off production to maintain high prices and   
   earnings. Companies returned some $9.51 billion to investors in   
   the first quarter, according to energy consultancy Wood   
   Mackenzie.   
      
   If oil producers had spent half of the $9.51 billion on new   
   drilling, it would fund some 660 new shale wells, according to   
   Reuters analysis using energy tech firm Enverus' average costs   
   of $7.14 million per shale well last year.   
      
   Output varies per basin but on average, a new well can deliver   
   some 672 bpd of oil, according to BTU Analytics. Based on the   
   additional wells and the average new shale-oil output,   
   production could be boosted some 450,000 bpd.   
      
   Those extra barrels could lift U.S. production this year beyond   
   the pre-pandemic record of 12.23 million bpd in 2019. The   
   government projects output to rise 720,000 bpd to 11.92 million   
   bpd in 2022.   
      
   MAKING ENERGY STOCKS ATTRACTIVE AGAIN   
      
      
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