Lawmaker Launches Probe of Exxon, BP on Buybacks, Tax Breaks

Representative Bill Pascrell is beginning an inquiry into how 11 oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc, are using tax benefits and going about stock buybacks amid surging crude prices and a sharp rise in gasoline costs.

Pascrell, who leads a House Ways and Means Oversight panel, sent letters to the companies’ chief executive officers Thursday asking them which tax code preferences they claim, to list the tax breaks they received from President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul and for information about stock buybacks in recent years.

“While it is bad enough American drivers are facing ...