WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate blocked a move by Republicans to speed domestic offshore oil and natural gas drilling on Wednesday, a fresh sign of congressional gridlock on energy issues even as drivers endure gasoline prices near $4 a gallon.

Republicans only got 42 of the 60 votes needed to consider a bill, known as the Offshore Production and Safety Act, that would have directed the Interior Department to conduct previously scheduled offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, Virginia, and Alaska.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate blocked a move by Democrats to repeal billions of dollars in tax breaks enjoyed by the biggest oil companies operating in the United States, but Majority Leader Harry Reid said that paring back the incentives would be included in an upcoming budget deal.

Democratic sponsors of the bill, which would have used the savings from ending the tax breaks to pay down $21 billion of the deficit in ten years, got only 52 of the 60 votes needed to proceed on the measure on Tuesday. The bill would have cut back tax breaks enjoyed by Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron ConocoPhillips, BP and Shell Oil, the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s new plan to expand oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska is an attempt to deflate Republican criticism that he’s not doing enough to expand drilling and appeal to voters as they struggle with high energy cost.

Obama announced measures in his weekly radio address on Saturday to push the Interior Department to expand domestic oil production in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – U.S. oil executives defended the
billions of dollars they get in tax breaks on Capitol Hill, only to
be chastised by senators, who said their huge profits put them out of
touch with consumers facing high gas prices.

Democratic lawmakers slammed executives on Thursday over their
refusal to give up tax breaks after their companies earned $35
billion during the first quarter of this year as gasoline prices rose
to $4 a gallon.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) – Repealing billions of
dollars in tax breaks for Big Oil won’t raise U.S. fuel prices,
Senator Max Baucus said in an opening shot directed at top
petroleum executives summoned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to
defend their surging profits.

Oil prices are set on a world market and the U.S. share of
crude production is less than 10 percent, Baucus said before
the CEOs of some of the most powerful companies in the world.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest oil companies on Wednesday launched broadsides against Democratic plans to pare back some of their cherished U.S. tax breaks, saying the measure was “un-American” and would only push up already high gasoline prices.

Top executives from the five biggest oil companies will testify about the tax breaks on Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. A day before the hearing companies and lawmakers traded barbs over the effort that Democrats say could help cut the deficit by about $21 billion over a decade.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The world’s biggest oil companies on Wednesday launched broadsides against Democratic plans to pare back some of their cherished tax breaks, saying the measure was “un-American” and would only push up already high gasoline prices.

A day before the top executives of the five biggest firms were to appear before the Senate Finance Committee, the companies and lawmakers traded barbs over the Democratic effort to kill the tax breaks that senators say could cut the deficit by about $21 billion over a decade.

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senators
introduced a bill on Tuesday that would repeal tax breaks
enjoyed by the five biggest oil companies, freeing up $21
billion over a decade to ease the budget deficit.

Reducing tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies is
also a goal of President Barack Obama, who has been keen to
tack the blame for soaring gasoline prices on oil companies as
he gears up for the 2012 election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senators introduced a bill on Tuesday that would repeal tax breaks enjoyed by the five biggest oil companies, freeing up $21 billion over a decade to ease budget deficits.

Reducing tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies is also a goal of President Barack Obama, who has been keen to tack the blame for soaring gasoline prices on oil companies as he gears up for the 2012 election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers will clash this week over strategies for combating high gasoline prices and repealing tax incentives enjoyed by Big Oil companies, but there is little chance of a breakthrough for drivers.

U.S. gasoline prices are set to hover near $4.00 a gallon this week, about 11 cents off the record hit in 2008, as last week’s 15 percent drop in the cost of oil to below $100 a barrel takes time to work its way to service stations.