Big Oil's big lobbying Q4

Fourth-quarter filings for Big Oil companies and trade groups are showing up in the handy Lobbying Disclosure Act database.

Why it matters: The totals are a periodic reminder of the industry money going into influencing federal policy and Congress.

• The filings, while they vary in detail, often provide specifics on which bills and policy areas the efforts address.

Here are a few totals based on what's available and links to the filings:

• The American Petroleum Institute, the industry's biggest trade group, reported $1.98 million in Q4 lobbying, up from $1.6 million in Q3 of 2019.
• Exxon reported $2.65 million, up from $1.94 million in Q3.
• Chevron reported $1.81 million in Q4, down from $2.25 million in Q3.
• BP reported $1.5 million, compared to $1.26 million in Q3.
• Shell reported $2.16 million in Q4, up from $1.68 million in Q3.
• The Edison Electric Institute, which lobbies for investor-owned power companies, reported $2.1 million, similar to the roughly $2.2 million in Q3.

Go deeper:

• Industry lobbying rifts over climate change growing
• Big Oil lobby showing subtle shifts on climate change