The
legislation could be debated by lawmakers after the Nov. 8
midterm elections.
The so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels bill, or
NOPEC, gained momentum in the U.S. Congress after the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies
decided on Oct. 5 to cut production by 2 million barrels per
day.
That was despite lobbying by the administration of President Joe
Biden. High oil prices are a vulnerability for Biden and his
fellow Democrats who are seeking to keep control of Congress in
the elections.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which easily passed the bill in
May, moved the bill on Tuesday to the Senate floor, the Senate
website showed. It was "just a paperwork processing step," a
Senate aide said.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican who sponsored NOPEC, tried
to attach the legislation to the annual defense policy bill. The
effort failed, but the bill could be attached to other
legislation later this year. Grassley's office did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
The future of the bill is now up to Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, a Democrat. The Senate schedule will likely be packed
after the elections, which could prevent the bill's
consideration. Schumer's office did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
On Oct. 6, Schumer said: "What Saudi Arabia did to help (Russian
President Vladimir) Putin continue to wage his despicable,
vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by
Americans. We are looking at all the legislative tools to best
deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action, including
the NOPEC bill".
If passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by Biden,
NOPEC would change U.S. antitrust law to revoke the sovereign
immunity that has protected OPEC+ members and their national oil
companies from lawsuits over price collusion.
It is unclear exactly how a federal court could enforce judicial
antitrust decisions against foreign countries. The United States
could also face criticism for its attempts to manipulate markets
by, for example, its planned release of 180 million barrels of
oil from the emergency oil reserve between May and December.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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