New taxes unlikely to derail oil, gas sector plans for M&A, aggressive buybacks

Two tax measures in the Inflation Reduction Act will raise costs but do little to change M&A or share-buyback trends in the oil and gas sector, experts said.

The act includes a 1% tax on share buybacks. From Exxon Mobil Corp. to much smaller shale gas driller Gulfport Energy Corp., oil and gas producers have billions in scheduled share buybacks coming up. But the 1% tax on the planned buybacks amounts to less than the daily moves in most companies’ stock prices, limiting the impact on companies, senior portfolio manager Brian Kessens of Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC said in an interview.

Read more here.