Union Carbide Corp.v. Commissioner
Experimentation to improve industrial production processes qualified as research, the same standard that governs refining, recovery, and drilling-fluid work.
The R&D credit rewards solving the technical problems of getting oil and gas out of the ground and to market. Most operators and service companies never claim what the work has earned.
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R&D isn't people in lab coats. It's the problem you solved on the rig floor.
Operators and service companies solve hard technical problems every day, in the well and in the field. Most never claim it, so we made the work fast, rigorous, and priced for the field.
From the wellhead to the refinery, the technical problem-solving in your operation can earn a dollar-for-dollar credit. Here is what usually qualifies.
The credit isn't industry-specific. These rulings govern how an oil and gas claim is judged, in the field and under contract.
Experimentation to improve industrial production processes qualified as research, the same standard that governs refining, recovery, and drilling-fluid work.
An engineering firm's fixed-price work qualified, but its capped cost-plus contracts were funded and denied. For service companies, the contract decides it.
“We treated our completion trials as routine. Onshore showed they were textbook R&D, worth seven figures.”
“They read our service contracts and proved which fixed-fee work qualified. Our prior firm never looked.”
“A real petroleum-engineer-turned-CPA walked us through every number. No black box, no guesswork.”
Link the AFEs, well files, field-trial logs, and payroll you already keep. No new software, no busywork.
Our agents map your projects to specific business components and the four-part test, including the field experimentation crews overlook.
A credentialed tax professional reviews every number, reads your service contracts, and stands behind it through audit.
Often yes. Fixed-price work where you bear the risk and keep rights to your methods can qualify, even though an operator paid for it. We check your contracts to be sure.
Routine production isn't R&D, but resolving real technical uncertainty is. New completion designs, recovery methods, drilling fluids, and process changes can all qualify.
The assessment is free. If we find credits worth claiming, our fee is a share of what we recover, so you only pay when you save.
We work alongside your CPA on the credit specifically, with the experimentation and contract documentation the IRS expects. You keep your accountant.
Tell us about your operation and we'll tell you plainly what you're likely owed. No cost, no obligation, and a real person to talk to.
Check your operation