Middle class Americans own oil and gas companies

The owners of America's oil and natural gas companies are largely retirees and middle class Americans saving for retirement, according to a report by Sonecon.

The report, Who Owns America’s Oil and Natural Gas Companies, was commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

“When oil and natural gas companies do well, so do millions of their owners all across America. The study concludes that a large proportion of the benefits of oil and gas company stock ownership goes to middle class Americans,” said Kyle Isakower, API VP of regulatory and economic policy.

In 2014, public and private pension and retirement plans, hold 46.8% of all the shares of US oil and natural gas companies, according to the study. Individual investors own 18.7%, and asset management companies including mutual funds hold 24.7% of shares. Institutional investors like banks, insurance companies, foundations and endowments hold 6.9% of shares.

Together, these groups hold 97% of oil and gas industry stock. By comparison, the officers and board members of US oil and gas companies own less than 3% of total shares.

“As companies announce Q3 earnings, it’s important to remember how they’re in line with other manufacturers, how they’re large as a total dollar figure because these are large multinational companies that compete on a global stage with foreign nationally-owned oil and natural gas companies, and how these earnings represent good news for millions of Americans,” Isakower said.

“The US oil and natural gas industry is a major part of our nation's economy. It supports 9.8 million jobs and pays more taxes than any other industry and at higher effective rates. As the Sonecon study shows, the industry also benefits millions of Americans who are its true owners.”

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/22102014/study-reveals-owners-of-us-oil-and-gas-companies-1683/