By Neanda Salvaterra
Here’s your morning jolt of news, insight and analysis on the global energy business. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints:EnergyJournal@wsj.com
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U.S. OIL FIRMS’ TUSSLE OVER TAX SEES INFLUENCE OF EU APPLE CLAWBACK
U.S. oil companies have been pushing for changes to U.S. corporate tax laws that require them to pay taxes on foreign earnings, and news that the European Union’s antitrust regulator is requiring Ireland to claw back billions in tax dollars from Apple Inc. could strengthen their case, reports Bradley Olson.
Oil chiefs, like many executives in other sectors, have said federal tax policy represents double taxation because companies have to pay other countries for operations there and then face U.S. taxes on world-wide earnings.
“American companies are disadvantaged on tax policy,” John Watson, CEO of Chevron Corp., said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal in April.
In the last two years, oil and gas companies have endured the worst price crash in a generation, so many are booking losses, which reduce the amount of tax that could be claimed by foreign regulators such as the EU in its case against Apple.
OIL MAN MCCLENDON DELIVERS FOR HEIRS
Even as Aubrey McClendon grappled with collapsing crude prices in the months before his unexpected death in March, the energy titan mortgaged his family’s stake in the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team--to buy land.
Now, that investment has paid off, with a small energy producer this month agreeing to buy for $136.5 million the roughly 18,000 acres that Mr. McClendon began snapping up in central Oklahoma last autumn, report Ryan Dezember and Kevin Helliker.
To acquire the land, Mr. McClendon borrowed $85 million from Los Angeles investment firm Oaktree Capital Group LLC, pledging as collateral income generated by his share of the National Basketball Association’s Oklahoma City Thunder, Oklahoma land and court records show.
The creation and sale of the land bundle, which has come to be known as Scoop Energy Co., highlights both Mr. McClendon’s uncanny knack for finding the next hot drilling prospect, as well as the risks he was willing to take.
PRIME MINISTER SAYS IRAQ SUPPORTS A FREEZE ON OPEC OIL PRODUCTION
Iraq would support a decision by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to limit oil output to prop up petroleum prices, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Tuesday.
The Iraqi premier’s announcement puts the weight of OPEC’s second-largest petroleum producing country behind a bid to cap oil output expected to be discussed during an energy conference in Algeria from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28. Until now, Iraq was seen as a potential impediment to a deal because its production has soared and it desperately needs oil revenue to fight a war against Islamic State, report Ben Kesling and Summer Said.
Any deal negotiated in Algiers next month also would need the support of Saudi Arabia and Iran, long-time rivals with competing interests in the Middle East and in the oil market. An initiative to freeze production died in April during talks in Qatar when Saudi Arabia backed out over Iran’s refusal to join.
JAGGED PEAK ENERGY OWNERS EXPLORE SALE, IPO
The owners of West Texas oil producer Jagged Peak Energy LLC are exploring a sale of the company amid a land rush in the region where the company drills. Jagged Peak is expected to fetch more than $2 billion if it is sold outright, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Its private-equity backer, Quantum Energy Partners, is also exploring an initial public offering of the company, some of the people said.
A sale of Jagged Peak Energy, which Quantum and a group of oil executives started with $400 million in April 2013, would come during a flurry of drilling and deal activity in the sought-after Permian Basin despite oil prices that are mired in their worst slump in years.
MARKETS
Oil prices edged lower Wednesday after U.S. crude stockpiles increased last week, a reminder to major oil producers that the global glut could persist if they fail to agree on a cut to production next month.
The American Petroleum Institute reported on Tuesday that U.S. crude stocks rose by 942,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 26. The industry group also forecast gasoline stocks to have fallen by 1.6 million barrels, though distillate inventories overall grew by 3 million barrels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release official numbers on Wednesday.
Read our latest market report at wsj.com.
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