Emerging economies have driven recent demand for the production of oil and gas. The effects on net income of some options—for example, those that would change royalty rates—could be significantly larger outside of the year period generally used for budget estimates, depending on future prices and other market conditions. For offshore resources, about 8 percent of royalty income in came from parcels that were leased in the previous 10 years, and the majority came from parcels that were leased more than 20 years earlier see figure below. The majority of 1. While shareholders still pay personal income tax, the MLP itself is exempt from corporate income taxes. Share this link:. Upstream Upstream is a term for the exploration and production stages in the oil and gas industry.