Senate Judiciary OKs Bill Proposing Tougher Enforcement of Oil, Gas
The measure (S 2557) would subject energy companies to prosecution under the Clayton Act if they withhold oil and gas in an effort to raise prices; calls for a joint federal-state task force to be created to investigate information-sharing between companies to determine if the practice has encouraged anti-competitive pricing; and requires the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to study whether future consolidations in the energy industry need closer scrutiny.
The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI). Co-sponsors include Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel.
"With the high fuel prices the American consumer is enduring, it is time for an examination of what oil and gas industry consolidations have done to prices," Specter said. "We have allowed too many companies to merge together and reduce competition. This legislation will help address the excessive concentration of power in the oil industry." Specter reported that more than 2,600 mergers have occurred in the U.S. petroleum industry since the 1990s.
The GOP-led Congress "should pass this bill immediately instead of waiting until the price at the pump skyrockets any higher," Leahy said. It could not be immediately learned when the Senate would take up the bill on the floor.
The committee action follows a March 14 hearing that explored the connection between the stepped-up consolidation in the oil and gas industry and the run-up in energy prices. CEOs of the leading oil and gas companies, appearing before the Senate Judiciary panel, expressed their opposition to the bill, saying that they believed existing antitrust laws were adequate (see Daily GPI, March 15).
Copyright 2006 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea