Rep. Wes Watkins (R-OK) introduced legislation Wednesday thatwould provide marginal well tax relief for oil and natural gasproducers. This is a “rifle shot approach,” and is not seen as acompanion to the measure on the same issue that Sen. Kay BaileyHutchinson (R-TX) is expected to sponsor later this week.

For marginal oil producers, Watkins’ proposed tax credit wouldphase in at $18 per barrel, and would allow producers to claim afull credit of $3 per barrel when prices dip to $14, said LeslieBelcher, chief of staff. For marginal gas producers, the tax creditwould kick in at $1.80/Mcf, and would furnish producers with a fullcredit of 50 cents/Mcf when prices plummet to $1.40/Mcf, she noted.The legislation also includes a provision that would permitproducers to claim credits as far back as 10 years. A marginal wellproduces less than 15 barrels per day of crude oil and/or less than90 Mcf/d of gas. Last year, Watkins introduced the National EnergySecurity Act, a comprehensive measure that called for a series ofreforms for energy producers.

©Copyright 1998 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press,Inc.