MoreMorocco Unveils Massive Solar Plant in the SaharaObama Proposes $10 Tax on Every Barrel of OilInside the Fossil Fuel Fight in the Pacific Northwest President Obama just threw down the gauntlet to the already-struggling U.S. oil industry. He announced an ambitious proposal on Thursday to add a $10 tax on every oil barrel produced to fund a sweeping set of green transportation initiatives that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and lower U.S.