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Denise McCourt says U.S. oil companies are owned by middle-class Americans.

The director of the general membership segment at the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 400 oil and natural gas companies, was the guest speaker Tuesday at the Wheeling Rotary Club meeting.

“Contrary to popular belief and what some politicians might say, America’s oil companies aren’t owned just by a small group of insiders,” she said. “Only 1.5 percent of industry shares are owned by company executives. The rest is owned by tens of millions of Americans, many of them middle class.”

McCourt said taxing “big oil” or cutting into its profits may hurt average Americans.

“If you’re wondering who owns ‘Big Oil,’ chances are good the answer is, ‘You do,’” she said. “If you have a mutual fund account, there is a good chance it invests in oil and natural gas stocks. If you have an IRA or personal retirement account, it may invest in energy stocks.”

McCourt said 2007 oil stock holdings show 29.5 percent are owned by mutual funds and other firms, 27 percent by pension funds, 23 percent by individual investors, 14 percent by IRAs, 5 percent by other institutional investors and 1.5 percent by corporate insiders.

She said another misunderstood issue is oil and natural gas earnings compared to other industries.

“The latest published data for 2007 show the oil and natural gas industry earned 8.3 cents for every dollar of sales compared to 7.3 cents for all U.S. manufacturing and 8.9 cents for U.S. manufacturing excluding the financially challenged auto industry,” she said.

At 8.3 cents profit for every dollar of earnings, she said, the oil and natural gas industry ranks below several other industries in terms of earnings. Those doing better include beverage and tobacco products, pharmaceutical and medicines, electrical equipment, appliances and components, computer and peripheral equipment and chemicals.

She said policy choices needed to ensure future energy security in America should be made to encourage energy efficiency, encourage long-term investment in energy initiatives and advanced technology, reduce barriers to increasing domestic supplies, rely on market forces to allocate products, refrain from new taxes that make it more expensive to develop domestic supplies and support the need to participate in global energy markets rather than isolate the United States.

 

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