President Obama is proposing to trim $3 trillion from the national debt in the next 10 years by, in part, eliminating tax preferences the oil and gas industry has enjoyed for years.The president’s bid to raise taxes on “the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations” was met with a blanket of criticism from the oil and gas industry.

In a Rose Garden speech on Sept. 19, Obama said, “I will not support any plan that puts all of the burden for closing our deficit on ordinary Americans. And I will ...