Big US oil companies reveal massive payments to foreign governments

The three largest U.S. energy exploration companies paid more than $42 billion to foreign governments last year, about eight times more than what they paid in the United States, according to regulatory filings. The disclosures from Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp, and ConocoPhillips were required this year for the first time ever under a new Securities and Exchange Commission requirement. Transparency advocates had been pushing for the rule for more than a decade to shine a light on Big Oil’s foreign financial transactions in its global quest for oil, and provide a sense of whether U.S. taxpayers are getting a fair share of the value of soaring U.S. production.