Senator Wielechowski says Sky-High Earnings Undercut Governor’s Proposal to Cut Taxes for Existing Fields

JUNEAU-ConocoPhillips earned $616 million in Alaska during the first three months of 2012, according to a report the company filed Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This equates to nearly $7 million a day in profits from 226,000 barrels of oil shipped down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

“These are phenomenal earnings,” Senator Wielechowski said yesterday. “Alaska’s oil is generating billions upon billions in yearly profits for the Big Three oil companies. How can anyone claim tax cuts are needed in Alaska’s existing oil fields when ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and BP Alaska are making money hand over fist?”

ConocoPhillips’ net income per barrel of oil equivalent was $28.66 in Alaska, compared to $6.07 in the Lower 48.

“This report proves that Alaska remains a highly profitable place to produce oil,” Senator Wielechowski.

“It blows a hole in the Governor’s argument that Alaskans need to lower taxes for the large multinational corporations that operate Prudhoe Bay and our other legacy fields.”

A recent report by the non-partisan Legislative Research Agency found that ConocoPhillips generally makes almost twice as much income per barrel in Alaska as in the Lower 48 or rest of the world. From 2000 to 2010, its net earnings per barrel in Alaska averaged $15.10, while earnings in the Lower 48 averaged $8.79 and earnings internationally averaged $8.57. Click here to see the report.

“Alaskans should be wary of giving major tax breaks to companies that are generating billions from producing Alaska’s finite oil resources,” Wielechowski warned. “It’s our oil, and the lifeblood of our economy. We shouldn’t squander it.”

For more information, call Senator Wielechowski at 242-1558 or Michelle Sydeman at 465-6881.