National Stripper Well Association Chairman Dewey Bartlett Jr., in an Aug. 12 statement on a US Energy Information Administration prediction that the Obama administration’s proposed federal oil tax changes would reduce future US output of crude oil annually by 15.4% and natural gas by 8.9% by the end of 2012:
“The decreased production that will result from the proposed tax increases will have a catastrophic effect upon the American consumer since less domestic oil means higher prices.
“The [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] leadership will have almost exclusive control over the world-wide pricing of crude oil as well as all products refined from crude oil such as gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel. Each of the thirty-plus states that have oil and natural gas production will experience a sharp decrease in tax revenues and significant job losses.
“A vital domestic industry that today helps fuel our national economy will become an insignificant creator of American jobs much like the shipbuilding, electronics and clothing industries. The consequences of the demise of our domestic oil and natural gas industry are beyond imagination . . .
“If the oil depletion allowance and intangible drilling costs are eliminated as tax incentives as proposed, Americans will see our imported oil dramatically increase by 20% to meet current energy needs. The bottom line for the American consumer is that our country will have absolutely no control over its energy prices and needs.
“The worldwide price of crude oil will be manipulated to influence the decisions in Washington, DC. And at this point, alternative energy sources are not readily available to cover the gap that will be created by the loss of the domestic stripper wells’ production.”
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