The $100 Billion Heist: Your Taxes Funding Big Oil’s ‘Green’ Fraud
Big Oil has successfully hijacked the climate transition, rebranding oil extraction as 'environmentalism' to pocket billions in public funds. While the media celebrates the Inflation Reduction Act, fossil fuel giants are using your money to pump the last drops of crude from the earth.
The government is using your tax dollars to pay Big Oil to drill more oil under the lie of 'Carbon Capture,' turning a climate bill into the ultimate corporate slush fund.
The greatest heist in American history is currently being rebranded as a 'climate victory' by the mainstream media. Under the guise of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the 45Q tax credit was hiked to $60 per ton for CO2 used in 'Enhanced Oil Recovery' (EOR). Let’s be clear: EOR is not carbon sequestration; it is a specialized drilling technique where companies pump CO2 into 'dead' wells to force out the remaining crude oil. You aren't paying to save the planet; you are paying ExxonMobil to make it easier for them to drill.
While corporate outlets like the New York Times and CNN regurgitate press releases about 'Net Zero,' the money trail tells a different story. Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub didn't lobby for these credits to save the environment; she did it to turn her company into a carbon-capture-fueled oil machine. Occidental is currently building the world’s largest Direct Air Capture plant in the Permian Basin, using taxpayer-backed incentives to extend the life of their oil fields. They are literally being paid by you to ensure fossil fuels remain dominant for another century.
The corruption is baked into the legislative DNA. Senator Joe Manchin, the architect of the IRA, ensured that 'Carbon Management' replaced 'Climate Action' in the bill’s language to protect his donors. The result? ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods just dropped $4.9 billion to acquire Denbury Inc., specifically to control CO2 pipelines for 'tax credit harvesting.' They aren't building wind turbines; they are building a infrastructure to suck public wealth into private balance sheets while an internal IRS audit already found that nearly $1 billion in these credits were claimed by companies that didn't even follow basic EPA monitoring.
Where is the media outrage? The same outlets that pearl-clutch over gas prices refuse to tell you that you’re paying a 'Carbon Tax' in reverse. Every ton of CO2 'captured' for EOR results in significantly more emissions once that newly extracted oil is burned. It’s a mathematical shell game where the only winners are the CEOs and the lobbyists. You are being forced to subsidize the very companies that are price-gouging you at the pump and destroying the habitability of the planet for your children.
Summary
Big Oil has successfully hijacked the climate transition, rebranding oil extraction as 'environmentalism' to pocket billions in public funds. While the media celebrates the Inflation Reduction Act, fossil fuel giants are using your money to pump the last drops of crude from the earth.
⚡ Key Facts
- The IRA hiked 45Q tax credits to $60/ton for 'Enhanced Oil Recovery,' a technique used to extract more oil.
- ExxonMobil’s $4.9 billion Denbury acquisition was a strategic move to harvest taxpayer-funded CO2 credits.
- Internal IRS audits revealed nearly $1 billion in credits were claimed without required EPA oversight.
- Occidental Petroleum is using 'green' subsidies to build infrastructure that extends the life of fossil fuel fields.
- Senator Joe Manchin rebranded fossil fuel subsidies as 'Carbon Management' to facilitate this wealth transfer.
Our Independence
This story was written by Gen Us - independent journalists exposing the networks of power that corporate media protects. No hedge fund owns us. No billionaire edits our headlines. We answer only to you, our readers.