Working interests · Drilling program
Invest Directly in an Oklahoma Oil Well. Without a Green Card Petition.
For investors who do not need a green card petition, working interests are offered in specific wells in the drilling program.
A working-interest investor owns a share of the specific wells it invests in, documented in a joint operating agreement, and receives its share of those wells’ profits each month.
- $500,000
- minimum investment; any amount above it is accepted
- 80%
- of the well’s profits until the investor has recouped the capital invested
- 70%
- of the well’s profits after the capital has been recouped
- Monthly
- profit distributions
The example is illustrative; the cost of each well is set out in the documents for that well. Profits depend on the production of the specific wells and the price of oil, and are not guaranteed. A working interest does not qualify for a green card petition or any other immigration benefit.
For US taxpayers: intangible drilling costs can be deducted in the year they are incurred, including costs paid before year-end for a well drilled early in the new year.Tax treatment ↓
Request the joint operating agreement: info@eb5energy.com
Two ways to invest in the same program
A Working Interest and the EB-5 Fund Investment, Side by Side.
Both invest in the same wells. They differ in what the investor holds, how profits are shared, and whether the investment qualifies for a green card petition.
| Feature | Working interest | EB-5 fund investment |
|---|---|---|
| What the investor holds | Working interest:A working interest in specific wells, equal to the investment as a share of each well’s total cost | EB-5 fund investment:Equity in the fund, which holds the controlling interest in the company |
| Minimum investment | Working interest:$500,000; any amount above it | EB-5 fund investment:$800,000, for petitions filed on or before December 31, 2026 |
| Green card petition | Working interest:Does not qualify | EB-5 fund investment:This investment qualifies for a green card petition |
| Until capital is recouped | Working interest:80% of the well’s profits, distributed monthly | EB-5 fund investment:An annual dividend distribution, currently estimated at about 2% a year, and 100% of the fund’s profits |
| After capital is recouped | Working interest:70% of the well’s profits | EB-5 fund investment:35% of all distributed profits, after all EB-5 investor capital is repaid |
| Repayment timeline | Working interest:Depends on the production of the specific wells | EB-5 fund investment:Targeted over a minimum of three years, class by class |
| Depends on | Working interest:The performance of the specific wells | EB-5 fund investment:The performance of the program as a whole |
| Governing document | Working interest:Joint operating agreement | EB-5 fund investment:Private placement memorandum |
Distributions and repayment timing are estimates and targets, not guarantees. EB-5 capital must remain invested for the USCIS minimum two-year sustainment period.
The wells
Drilling a Formation That Already Produces.
The program is drilling eight wells in the Mississippi Lime in Major County, Oklahoma, with mineral rights secured. The full development plan covers up to 72 well locations.
This is productive acreage. Eleven vertical wells were drilled on it between 1963 and 1989, six of them into the Mississippi Lime, and five are still producing.
The program projects a peak of 300 barrels a day per new well. Ten modern horizontal wells three to seven miles away, in the same formation, peaked at an average of 483 barrels a day — figures that can be checked in Oklahoma state production records.
The wells are drilled and operated by a team led by Mark Wagner, CEO, with more than 40 years operating oil and gas projects; Michael Shourd, VP of Geology, with 47 years; and Eric Marshall, VP of Operations, with 22 years.
Production figures for the new wells are projections.
For US taxpayers
Tax Treatment of a Working Interest.
A working interest held directly carries deductions that most investments do not. For a US taxpayer, four provisions of the federal tax code do most of the work.
Intangible drilling costs
Deductible in the year incurred
Drilling costs with no salvage value — labour, fuel, site preparation and drilling services — can be deducted in full in the year they are incurred, rather than over the life of the well. Only integrated oil companies, which also refine or retail, must capitalise part of them.
Equipment
100% bonus depreciation
The tangible equipment in a well — casing, wellhead and production equipment — qualifies for 100% bonus depreciation, which 2025 legislation made permanent for property acquired after January 19, 2025.
Passive activity rules
Deductible against other income
A working interest held directly, or through an entity that does not limit the investor’s liability, is not a passive activity, whether or not the investor takes part in operations. Deductions from it can offset wages, business and investment income.
The condition is liability. An interest held through a limited liability company, a corporation or as a limited partner does not qualify, and income the well later produces is treated as non-passive.
Percentage depletion
15% of production income
Once a well produces, an independent producer can deduct 15% of the gross income from it as depletion, on up to 1,000 barrels a day, limited to the taxable income from the property and to 65% of the investor’s taxable income.
Investing Before Year-End
Drilling costs paid before December 31 can be deducted in that tax year if drilling of the well begins within 90 days after the year ends. An investment made before year-end in a well drilled by the end of March can therefore reduce the tax due on the current year’s income.
Which wells meet that timing, and what share of each well’s cost is intangible, is confirmed on a call.
General information on US federal income tax rules, not tax advice. What an investor can deduct depends on the investor’s own circumstances, including the at-risk rules, the alternative minimum tax and state tax, and should be confirmed with the investor’s tax adviser. Non-US investors are taxed differently. References: Internal Revenue Code sections 168(k), 263(c), 461(i), 469(c)(3) and 613A; IRS Publication 925.
Before investing
What a Working-Interest Investor Should Know.
- Returns depend on specific wells. A working-interest investor’s profits come from the wells it holds an interest in, not from the program as a whole. A well can underperform its projection.
- The price of oil moves in both directions. Profits rise and fall with it.
- The joint operating agreement governs. It sets out the investor’s interest, how profits are calculated and distributed, and the investor’s share of costs and obligations. An investor who holds the interest without limited liability, as the tax treatment above requires, is responsible for that share.
- No immigration benefit. A working interest does not qualify for a green card petition. Investors seeking one invest through the fund instead.
- Tax benefits depend on the investor. The deductions described above apply to US taxpayers and vary with each investor’s circumstances.
- Capital is at risk. An investor can lose some or all of the capital invested.
To discuss which wells are available and the size of interest, schedule a call. The joint operating agreement is sent on request.
For educational purposes only. This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Working interests involve risk, including possible loss of the capital invested, and do not qualify for a green card petition or any immigration benefit. Offers are made only through the joint operating agreement and related documents.
Profit distributions depend on the production of the specific wells, operating costs and the price of oil, are not guaranteed, and are subject to the terms of the joint operating agreement. Production figures for new wells are projections.