The unmitigated gall of oil executives

After ridiculously escalating gas prices and record setting profits like Exxon-Mobil's $36 Billion the oil industry has the nerve to expect "incentives"???

Oil Giants Fell Behind on Fees

More than three dozen energy companies fell nearly $500 million behind last year on royalty payments the federal government says they owed for oil and gas extracted from public territory, according to Interior Department documents released Thursday.

While most of that money was later turned over after the government demanded payment, almost $60 million remains in dispute.

The companies, which included major producers like Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips, had claimed lucrative government incentives for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico even though the incentives were not supposed to be available if market prices climbed above certain "threshold prices."

The Interior Department, in a report sent to lawmakers looking into the energy royalty program, identified 41 companies that incorrectly claimed about $493 million in "royalty relief" during 2004, when prices for both oil and gas climbed to records.

The Interior Department said that 38 of the 41 companies quickly paid $435 million in back royalties after it sent out warning letters in December, months after the money should have been paid.