US Democrats launch bill holding oil companies responsible for any work with OPEC

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill to hold energy companies accountable if federal regulators find they colluded with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise oil prices.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Nanette Barragan, says if the Federal Trade Commission concludes that any energy company colluded with OPEC, it would no longer be eligible for new oil and gas leases on land and waters. federal.

WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND?

In May, the FTC accused Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield of exchanging hundreds of messages with OPEC officials to artificially inflate oil prices. The US antitrust regulator approved Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer but barred Sheffield from Exxon’s board.

Sheffield denied the FTC’s allegations. Exxon, which has since purchased Pioneer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the project. But Exxon said it has submitted more than 1.1 million documents and other information and data to the FTC and that the agency has raised no concerns about its business practices.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Although the bill has almost no chance of passing, with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and Democrats holding only a slim majority in the Senate, it shows that some lawmakers are keeping up the pressure on oil companies.

Last month, the U.S. Senate budget committee launched an investigation into domestic producers over any efforts to coordinate oil prices with OPEC, in a move that the American Petroleum Institute, a lobbying group, called an “election year scam.” “.

Markey’s bill was also co-sponsored by about 11 other left-leaning Democrats in the House, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortz and Raul Grijalva.

KEY QUOTE

Markey said in a statement that the bill is a “first step toward ensuring that Big Oil gets big consequences when they profit at the expense of American workers.”

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)