Oil Industry Scooped Up Offshore Leases at Bargain Rates (Norway gets 75% of revenues, US 20%)

[The Straight Story]

Oil Industry Scooped Up Offshore Leases at Bargain Rates


When Norway leases its offshore territory to oil companies, the government receives more than 75% of the revenues. The United States, however, takes in less than 20%, making coastal petroleum opportunities a fantastic bargain for the industry.

Two university professors, Bill Freudenburg of the University of California, Santa Barbara and Bob Gramling of the University of Louisiana, Lafayette, went back through decades of oil leases issued by the federal government, mostly through the office of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and found the average price per acre was $263 from 1983 to 2008. But during the previous three decades (1954-1982), the government had charged an average of $2,224 per acre.

An important shift occurred during the Reagan administration, especially under the leadership of Interior Secretary James Watt, with the MMS dramatically reducing the cost of leasing oil-rich parcels to companies. Subsequent administrations, including President Bill Clinton’s, continued the discounted pricing, allowing the industry to make a killing through offshore leases.

http://www.allgov.com/Where_is_the_Money_Going/ViewNews/Oil_Industry_Scooped_Up_Offshore_Leases_at_Bargain_Rates_100521

[aquart]

1. And we thought we were the ones doing all the exploiting.

SUCKERS!

[PufPuf23]

2. Where is Hugo Chavez when you need him?

"We" don't like Chavez because Venezuela has lots of oil and he re-negotiated contracts and reformed the oil sector to bring more and fairer return to the citizens of the country. We are getting so third world only heavily armed.

[Supersedeas]

3. Representative Democracy in Action -- who DO they represent?

[Scuba]

4. I'll be Cheney did OK, though.

[blindpig]

5. This is the capitol of Capitalism.

What would you expect?

Kill Capitalism.

[jp11]

6. Here here, to take anymore of their profits would hurt the economy, cost jobs, bring about the

end of days and make us all socialists or something.