Gas pipelines
 |
|
This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy. See here for help on adding material to CoalSwarm. |
| This article is part of the FrackSwarm coverage of fracking. | |
| Sub-articles: | |
| Related articles: | |
Contents
United States
On May 1, 2012, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of Houston-based pipeline companies El Paso Corp. and Kinder Morgan Inc. The merger will create the largest pipeline company and fourth-biggest energy company in North America: a $94 billion enterprise with 80,000 miles of pipeline.[1][2]
Tax breaks
In March 2012, E&E reported that private equity firms and pension funds are channeling investor cash to companies building pipelines out of oil and gas fields, spurred by steady returns and tax breaks. Under a business structure Congress created in the 1980s known as the master limited partnership, or the energy MLP, pipeline companies are able to pass profits to investors in the form of dividendlike distributions without paying a corporate tax. The value of energy MLPs has doubled since 2006 to more than $200 billion -- most interstate pipelines crisscrossing the United States are part of companies organized as MLPs. Many of them trade like a stock on the New York Stock Exchange.[3]
Resources
References
- ↑ Joel Kirkland, "FINANCE: Gas industry milks corporate tax break as prices plunge," E&E, March 16, 2012.
- ↑ Anne Pallivathuckal, "Kinder Morgan Says FTC Approves El Paso Deal," Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2012.
- ↑ Joel Kirkland, "FINANCE: Gas industry milks corporate tax break as prices plunge," E&E, March 16, 2012.
Related SourceWatch articles
Click on the map below for state-by-state information on fracking:
<us_map redirect="{state} and fracking"></us_map>
