It's not as if the US government is running record defecits and needs the money or anything

The US government has dropped claims against Chevron for millions of dollars it had claimed that the oil giant had systematically under paid for natural gas extraction from the Gulf of Mexico. Explaining why the government gave up without a fight spokesmen said that they had "no choice but to drop their order to Chevron because a department appeals board had ruled against auditors in a separate case". This is despite the fact that state governments and private individuals have won back over 70 million USD in similar cases.

This latest gift to the energy industry follows the admission earlier in the year that companies would escape "7 billion (USD) in payments because of mistakes in leases signed in the 1990s". Well I'm sure they need the money!