Senate Budget Committee chair initiates inquiry following FTC investigation into alleged collusion between a ‘Big Oil’ executive and OPEC to manipulate the petroleum market.
A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe into an executive from a U.S. oil corporation’s alleged attempt to conspire with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to manipulate global petroleum markets has sparked demands for a wider federal investigation into potential “price-fixing schemes.”
Senate Budget Committee Chair Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) announced on June 27 that his office has launched an investigation into claims of “collusive, anti-competitive” activities between 18 U.S. oil producers and OPEC. The investigation aims to uncover any efforts to artificially increase prices for American consumers and raise costs for the federal government.
The inquiry was prompted by revelations uncovered during the FTC’s investigation into former Pioneer Natural Resources Company CEO Scott Sheffield’s alleged attempt to collaborate with OPEC to manipulate global oil and gas production. This effort was part of the review of ExxonMobil’s proposed acquisition of Pioneer, a deal worth $64.5 billion and the largest oil corporation merger in two decades.
The FTC’s report on the Pioneer-ExxonMobil merger, released on May 2, highlighted “antitrust concerns” related to potential crude oil price-fixing schemes that could have inflated oil and gas costs for consumers by up to 25 percent.
Senator Whitehouse emphasized that the FTC’s findings indicate that Mr. Sheffield and Pioneer were not the only ones engaging in collusive activities. Both Mr. Sheffield and the companies involved have denied the allegations.
In response to the FTC’s evidence concerning Mr. Sheffield’s alleged coordination with OPEC, Senator Whitehouse, along with Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer and other congressional Democrats, urged the Department of Justice to take action against collusion and price-fixing in the oil industry.
The Senate Budget Committee has requested responses from the 18 oil company executives by July 12. This investigation is part of a series of inquiries into Big Oil initiated by Senator Whitehouse and other lawmakers, including a joint probe with the Senate Finance Committee into alleged quid pro quo offers from former President Donald Trump to oil and gas companies.
Additionally, ongoing investigations by the Senate Budget Committee and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are focused on oil companies’ deceptive claims regarding their products, efforts to combat climate change, and attempts to avoid accountability for climate change impacts.
Senator Whitehouse and others have called on the DOJ to investigate these allegations, leading to a petition drive urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch an investigation into the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to mislead the public and policymakers, akin to the actions taken against ‘Big Tobacco.’ Can you please rewrite this sentence?
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