Windfall Profits Tax for Oil Companies: Should We Try Again?

ExxonMobil had one of the largest quarterly profits in U.S. corporate history, with a profit of $9.9 billion. Profits for many of the oil and gas companies around the world have been steadily increasing with a rise in gas prices. With such profits, a skeptical eye has been put on the large oil and gas companies by the public. A windfall profits tax is one idea that is circulating. This tax would decrease profits of the oil and gas companies, and has been tried before in the past. Should a windfall tax be implemented now? I believe it shouldn't be implemented because a windfall profits tax would give companies a disincentive to drill and produce, and smaller companies would shut-in marginal wells and choose not to drill risky exploration wells. With demand increasing, a decrease in supply would not be the right direction to take, and a windfall profits tax would decrease that supply. A decrease in supply would cause gas prices to increase even more. Like I said before, this tax has been tried in the past, but the tax eventually disintegrated because companies were not drilling as many wells and shutting in many of their smaller wells. Your thoughts?