Upstream
Severance Tax Compliance & Planning
Indirect Tax Consulting
Tax Controversy & Audit Defense
State Regulatory Accounting
Operational Tax Optimization
Nick Osborn is a Director in Opportune’s Tax Advisory practice, bringing over 15 years of specialized experience in indirect tax consulting. He has a deep expertise in severance tax matters across major oil and gas jurisdictions, including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Throughout his career, Nick has focused on delivering substantial value to upstream oil and gas clients by navigating complex tax compliance, structuring strategic tax planning, and managing challenging controversy issues.
Prior to joining Opportune, Nick served as a Senior Manager at Deloitte, where he spearheaded the development of a dedicated severance tax offering tailored specifically for exploration and production (E&P) companies. His foundational expertise in energy regulations includes serving as a Regulatory Accountant for EnerVest, Ltd., where he managed marketing cost analysis and royalty reporting, and working as a Severance Tax Auditor for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, where he executed detailed compliance audits and led industry educational workshops.
Developed and launched a specialized severance tax service offering tailored for exploration and production clients to ensure multi-state compliance and identify optimization opportunities.
Identified and implemented strategic operational tax savings that generated $2 million to $3 million annually in Texas severance tax savings for a major E&P company.
Secured multi-million dollars in severance tax refunds for numerous upstream clients across multiple state jurisdictions through detailed marketing cost analysis and retroactive compliance reviews.
Executed complex severance tax audits on behalf of state regulatory authorities, analyzing purchase statements and internal corporate records to identify and resolve systemic compliance discrepancies.
Facilitated professional workshops and educational seminars to guide industry participants through evolving state tax laws, audit processes, and regulatory reporting requirements.
Managed critical regulatory accounting functions, cross-functional month-end closes, and account reconciliations to ensure accurate royalty reporting and state agency alignment.
