Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators are calling on the Department of Justice to “use every tool” at its disposal to prevent and prosecute alleged collusion and price-fixing in the oil industry.
Quick Read
- Democrats urge Justice Department to prosecute alleged collusion and price-fixing by oil industry
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators called on the Department of Justice to prevent and prosecute alleged collusion and price-fixing in the oil industry.
- In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Democrats referenced a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation that found evidence of price-fixing by oil executives, leading to higher energy costs.
- The FTC investigation revealed that Scott Sheffield, former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ to potentially raise crude oil prices.
- The FTC cleared Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer on May 2 but barred Sheffield from joining Exxon’s board.
- Democrats highlighted that the collusion may have cost American households up to $500 per car annually in increased fuel costs.
- They called for the Justice Department to investigate possible violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act and address national security concerns related to Big Oil’s alleged collusion with OPEC.
- Democrats emphasized the burden of higher fuel costs on lower-income families and the significant profits of oil companies, which totaled over $300 billion in the last two years.
- Separate from the letter, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jamie Raskin asked the DOJ to investigate if oil companies misled the public about the climate effects of burning fossil fuels.
- Republicans criticized President Biden’s energy policies, including restrictions on oil and gas leasing and higher drilling rates on federal lands.
- The letter was signed by 23 Democrats, including Schumer, Whitehouse, Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin.
The Associated Press has the story:
Democrats urge DOJ to prosecute alleged collusion & price-fixing by oil industry
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators are calling on the Department of Justice to “use every tool” at its disposal to prevent and prosecute alleged collusion and price-fixing in the oil industry.
In a letter Thursday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and other officials, the Democrats said a recent Federal Trade Commission investigation into a high-profile merger uncovered evidence of price-fixing by oil executives that led to higher energy costs for American families and businesses.
The FTC said earlier this month that Scott Sheffield, the former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ to potentially raise crude oil prices. Sheffield retired from the company in 2016 but returned as CEO in 2019. After retiring again in 2023, he continued to serve on its board.
The FTC cleared Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer on May 2 but barred Sheffield from joining the new company’s board of directors. Pioneer, which is based in Dallas, said it disagreed with the allegations but would not impede closing of the merger, which was announced in 2023.
In a report, the FTC said collusion by Pioneer and others may have cost the average American household up to $500 per car in increased annual fuel costs, an amount Democrats called “an unwelcome tax that is particularly burdensome for lower-income families.” Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil and other major oil companies collectively earned more than $300 billion in profits over the last two years, “a surge that many market experts believe cannot be explained away by increased production costs from the (coronavirus) pandemic or inflation,” Democrats said.
The letter calls for the Justice Department to launch an industry-wide investigation into possible violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. It outlined how “Big Oil’s alleged collusion with OPEC is a national security concern that aids countries looking to undermine the U.S.,” including Russia and Iran.
“Corporate malfeasance must be confronted, or it will proliferate,” the letter said. “These alleged offenses do not simply enrich corporations; hardworking Americans end up paying the price through higher costs for gas, fuel and related consumer products. The DOJ must protect consumers, small businesses and the public from petroleum-market collusion.”
The letter by Senate Democrats was the latest in a series of partisan actions targeting the oil industry.
Separately, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland have formally asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Exxon, Chevron and other oil companies misled the public over decades about the climate effects of burning fossil fuels. Whitehouse and Raskin led a multiyear investigation that uncovered what they described as “damning new documents that exposed the fossil fuel industry’s ongoing efforts to deceive the public and block climate action.”
Republicans, meanwhile, have attacked President Joe Biden’s energy policies, including a freeze on liquefied natural gas exports, restrictions on new oil and gas leasing on a petroleum reserve in Alaska and a decision to charge companies higher rates to drill for oil and natural gas on federal lands.
Sen. John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, said the Democratic president was “doing all he can to make it economically impossible to produce energy on federal lands.”
The letter released Thursday was signed by 23 Democrats, including Schumer, Whitehouse, Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell of Washington state and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois.
