Working interest · Tax treatment
Empire Energy Capital
Basics of investing in oil and gas projects — and the tax advantages.
An introduction to working-interest participation, the associated federal tax treatment, and the statutory provisions that govern it.
Ahmed F. Aslam, M.D.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Empire Energy Capital
Syed Taiyab
Managing Partner, Empire Energy Capital
Sandesh Karki
Managing Partner, Empire Energy Capital
The material
Working interest, tax treatment, and who may participate.
01
The well
How a modern well is drilled, completed, and owned — vertical, horizontal, and multi-stage fracturing.
The well02
Working interest
The participating share that funds drilling and receives production, as distinct from a royalty.
Working interest03
Tax advantages
IDC, bonus depreciation, ordinary-income treatment, and the Code limitations that still apply.
Tax advantages04
An illustration
A New York resident earning $700,000 who deploys $300,000 — federal, state, and city tax before and after.
An illustration05
Public record
EIA well-rate tables and crude-price series, and what a 1% working interest looks like at $60 and $80 a barrel.
Public record06
Participation
Connected investment amounts under discussion, and who qualifies as an accredited investor.
Participation07
Leadership
The principals of Empire Energy Capital and the operating record of the partnered wells.
Leadership08
Discussion
Request a conversation and review the public statutory and EIA source materials.
DiscussionStatutory basis
These provisions have been in the Code for decades.
1916 IDC · 1926 depletion · 1954 §263(c) · 1986 §469(c)(3) · 2025 Pub. L. 119-21 restores 100% bonus depreciation under §168(k).
The statutory treatment