Why is Fred Thompson against a windfall profits tax against the petroleum companies?

Why not a law that states that if a company makes over so much money in a quarter that it has the option of either reinvesting it in exploration, increased production, enlarging refining capabilities and infrastructure or forfeit the over the line profits to the government to be distributed back to the consumers? Wouldn't that make sense? It seems to me that that would either eleviate the problem of short supply and high prices for the consumer. Why hasn't any of the candidates for President thought of this already?