The US Senate passes a law that holds the OPEC countries accountable in the event of a shortage of oil supplies

[yota691]

 

America .. Efforts to prepare a bill that would punish OPEC and its members

 2022-04-29 09:09

 

 

Shafak News / A US Senate committee will consider a bill next week that allows for filing lawsuits against the group of oil producers, which includes "OPEC" and allied countries, for allegedly conspiring to raise oil prices.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Democratic Representative Amy Klobuchar and others, comes as the Biden administration struggles to control oil and gasoline prices that have skyrocketed due to Ukraine-related events and impose sanctions on Moscow.

The NOPEC bill would allow the US Attorney General to sue oil-producing countries, such as members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, under US antitrust laws, according to US media.

This is not the first time that Congress has considered a bill targeting OPEC in conjunction with the rise in oil prices, as all these attempts have failed for more than 20 years.

[yota691]

The US Senate passes a law that holds the OPEC countries accountable in the event of a shortage of oil supplies

2022.05.05 - 19:52

 

  

Baghdad - people  

A US Senate committee on Thursday approved a bill that would hold the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners accountable under antitrust laws for coordinating supply cuts that raise global oil prices.  

  

  

  

The "No to Oil Production and Export Cartels" bill, known as NOPEC, aims to protect US consumers and companies from intentional rises in gasoline and heating oil prices, but some analysts warn that its implementation may have some unintended dangerous repercussions.  

  

Here are some details of the bill:  

  

What is the NOPEC bill?  

The bipartisan NOPEC bill would introduce amendments to US antitrust law to abolish the sovereign immunity that protects OPEC and its member states' national oil companies from lawsuits.  

  

If NOPEC becomes law, the US attorney general will be able to sue OPEC or its members - like Saudi Arabia - in a federal court. It will also be able to sue other producers allied with OPEC - such as Russia - working with the organization to reduce supplies within what is known as the OPEC + group.  

  

It was not clear how a federal court could enforce antitrust rulings on a foreign country. But several attempts to enact the NOPEC law over a period of more than 20 years has alarmed Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, prompting it to apply strong pressure every time a version of this law is introduced.  

  

After the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the latest version of the bill on Thursday with 17 votes in favor and four, it must be passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, then signed by President Joe Biden into law.  

  

The White House did not say whether Biden supported the bill, and it was not clear whether he had enough support in Congress to reach this stage.  

  

What has changed now?  

Previous versions of the NOPEC bill failed due to resistance from groups within the US energy sector such as the American Petroleum Institute.  

  

But anger has recently grown in the US Congress over the rise in gasoline prices, which contributed to inflation reaching its highest levels in decades, which increases the chances of the law being passed this time.  

  

OPEC has ignored the demands of the United States and its allies to increase oil pumping by more than the gradual increase applied by the organization, in light of the sharp rise in prices with the exit of consumers worldwide from the restrictions of the Corona virus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  

  

Russia, which normally produces about 10 percent of the world's oil, could see its crude production fall by 17 percent this year due to Western sanctions.  

  

Possible setback  

Some analysts said that the speedy enactment of the law could lead to an unintended setback, including the possibility of other countries taking similar steps against the United States for reducing supplies of agricultural products to support domestic agriculture, for example.  

  

"It's a bad move to set policy while you're in a rage," said Mark Finley, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute on global energy and oil, and an analyst and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  

  

OPEC countries may respond in other ways.  

  

In 2019, for example, Saudi Arabia threatened to sell its oil in currencies other than dollars if Washington passed an earlier version of the NOPEC bill. This would undermine the dollar's status as the world's major reserve currency, reducing Washington's influence on global trade and weakening its ability to impose sanctions on other countries.  

  

The Kingdom may also decide to purchase even some of its weapons from countries other than the United States, which would harm the booming trade of American defense companies.  

  

In addition, Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries could reduce US investments in them or even raise oil sales prices to the United States, undermining the primary goal of enacting the law.  

  

The United States and its allies already face major challenges in securing reliable energy supplies, said Paul Sullivan, Middle East analyst and non-resident fellow at the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council. "The last thing we need to do is drop a bomb on this," he added.  

  

Opposition to the US oil sector  

The American Petroleum Institute, the largest conglomerate in the US oil industry, has protested against the NOPEC bill, saying it could harm domestic oil and gas producers.  

  

One of the sector's concerns is that the NOPEC bill will eventually lead to more OPEC production than the market needs, which may lower prices to a degree that American energy companies will find it difficult to boost production. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members have some of the cheapest and easiest oil reserves to extract.  

[yota691]

Washington .. Approval of a law that allows the “OPEC” countries to be sued

internationals

2022-05-05 | 12:31

 

 

 

 

Source:

Russia Today

 

3,282 views

 

 

The US Senate Judiciary Committee approved the NOPEC bill to ban oil production and exports, which allows Washington to sue OPEC countries for exercising a "monopoly" by not increasing oil production.

The results of the vote on the law showed the approval of the majority of the members of the committee, which, if passed, would allow the US authorities to sue the member states of the oil-producing Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the basis of alleged violations of monopoly laws.

 

 

 

Informed sources indicated, "The project will recognize the illegality of any joint measures for other countries aimed at limiting oil production and setting black gold prices."

This was preceded by a similar bill a year ago, knowing that the new project, and before referring the draft to US President Joe Biden for signature, will have to obtain approval from both houses of the US Congress.

[Fairways&Greens]

Or maybe the Biden Administration could take accountability. Totally avoidable by opening up production here in the US. 
 

Maybe after the drubbing in November things will change. 

[coorslite21]

Morons....they must have a "God" syndrome.....

But hey......let's push the Saudi's further towards China.....

 

With you fairways&greens....let's go energy independent again!

CL 

[jg1]

31 minutes ago, Fairways&Greens said:

Or maybe the Biden Administration could take accountability. Totally avoidable by opening up production here in the US. 
 

Maybe after the drubbing in November things will change. 

Thank you for stating the obvious. Someone had to, anything they want, I want the opposite. It like they are the enemy!

[DoD]

LMAO…the OPEC countries won’t even answer the phone when sleepy Joe calls so I would imagine they could really give a damn if he OKs a law that they can be sued…

One day they will make a movie out of this disastrous administration the USA has in place now, unfortunately we live in it today…

[horsesoldier]

Making other people accountable for their Epic failure of one catastrophic decision after another that has led this nation to the edge of the Abyss.

 

In my wildest imagination ( & I gotta pretty wild one ) I never expected to be witness to the madness & horrific state of things, not only in the USA, but the entire planet.

[keylime]

49 minutes ago, DoD said:

LMAO…the OPEC countries won’t even answer the phone when sleepy Joe calls so I would imagine they could really give a damn if he OKs a law that they can be sued…

One day they will make a movie out of this disastrous administration the USA has in place now, unfortunately we live in it today…

Thay already have. It's called The Three Stooges.

Biden, Nancy, and Schumer.

Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop!

 

 

[Stelardoc]

12 minutes ago, keylime said:

They already have. It's called The Three Stooges.

Biden, Nancy, and Schumer.

Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop!

 

 

Only upside to that is that the 3 stooges are dead.

Could we be so lucky ?

We have to shut down the clone/clown factory 

At least destroy the software for evil selfish knot heads

3 Stooges much more entertaining😂

[ronscarpa]

8 hours ago, Fairways&Greens said:

Or maybe the Biden Administration could take accountability. Totally avoidable by opening up production here in the US. 
 

Maybe after the drubbing in November things will change. 

 

8 hours ago, coorslite21 said:

Morons....they must have a "God" syndrome.....

But hey......let's push the Saudi's further towards China.....

 

With you fairways&greens....let's go energy independent again!

CL 

 

5 hours ago, DoD said:

LMAO…the OPEC countries won’t even answer the phone when sleepy Joe calls so I would imagine they could really give a damn if he OKs a law that they can be sued…

One day they will make a movie out of this disastrous administration the USA has in place now, unfortunately we live in it today…

 

5 hours ago, horsesoldier said:

Making other people accountable for their Epic failure of one catastrophic decision after another that has led this nation to the edge of the Abyss.

 

In my wildest imagination ( & I gotta pretty wild one ) I never expected to be witness to the madness & horrific state of things, not only in the USA, but the entire planet.

 

I'm in total agreement with you guys - Typical of the Democrats and this administration to blame everyone else for their failures, bad decisions, and shortcomings...!  Obvious choices could be made, but NO - keep our oil production capabilities shut down - global warming and all...LOL..! Plus, they want to bankrupt the US and take us down the path towards socialism ( which is a failure everywhere it's been attempted). We Americans need to wake up - hopefully we'll see it in November.

[haymon]

Blame someone esle for our own stupidity. Geeze.... 

["Fred"]

[horsesoldier]

He still looks like Jeff Dunham's " buddy " Walter

[yota691]

U.S. Senate panel passes bill to pressure OPEC oil cartel

Reuters

1 minute read

The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sits outside its headquarters ahead of the OPEC and NON-OPEC meeting, Austria December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill on Thursday known as "NOPEC" that could open OPEC oil producers to U.S. lawsuits over price collusion.

The bill, which passed the committee by a tally of 17 to 4, would have to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

[yota691]

US Senate committee passes bill pressuring Opec, Russia over high oil prices

The bill, if passed, would open up Opec members and partners to lawsuits over collusion on crude oil prices

Saudi Arabia and other Opec members have rebuffed requests by the US to boost oil production beyond gradual amounts (AFP/File photo)

By 

MEE staff

 in 

Washington

Published date: 6 May 2022 16:30 UTC | Last update: 21 hours 9 mins ago

A US Senate committee has passed a bill that could open the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its partners, including Russia, to lawsuits for collusion on the rise in crude oil prices.

The No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (Nopec) bill, sponsored by Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Amy Klobuchar, passed 17-4 in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

However, it will need to pass the full Senate and House and be signed by President Joe Biden in order to become law.

The bill would change US antitrust law to revoke the sovereign immunity that has long protected Opec and its national oil companies from lawsuits.

 

By doing so, the US attorney general would then have the power to sue Opec, its members such as Saudi Arabia or its partners like Russia, in federal court on charges including market manipulation.

"I believe that free and competitive markets are better for consumers than markets controlled by a cartel of state-owned oil companies ... competition is the very basis of our economic system," Klobuchar said in a statement.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said the administration has concerns about the "potential implications and unintended consequences" of the legislation and that the White House is still studying the bill.

Versions of the legislation have failed in Congress for more than two decades. But lawmakers are increasingly worried about rising inflation driven in part by prices for US gasoline, which briefly hit a record above $4.30 a gallon this spring.

Saudi Arabia and other Opec members have rebuffed requests by the US to boost oil production beyond gradual amounts, even as global oil consumption recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russian supply falls after its invasion of Ukraine.

Opec+, a partnership between Opec members and other oil producers including Russia, agreed on Thursday to stick to its existing plans to reverse the curbs with modest increases for another month.

Calls to rebalance US-Saudi ties

The Nopec bill is intended to protect US consumers and businesses from engineered spikes in the cost of gasoline, but some lawmakers and oil lobbyists warn that it could have dangerous unintended consequences.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia threatened to sell oil in currencies other than the dollar if Washington passed Nopec, a move that could undermine the dollar's status as the world's main reserve currency, reduce Washington's clout in global trade and weaken its ability to enforce sanctions on nation-states.

The kingdom made similar news earlier this year when the Wall Street Journal reported that it was considering using the Chinese Yuan in oil deals with Beijing.

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, the top US oil-producing state, opposed the bill, saying it could prompt Opec to restrict shipments to the country.

'The main reason gas prices are sky high is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are deliberately helping Russia'

- Tom Malinowski, US congressman

"If we really want to deal with price at the pump, we ought to produce more oil and gas here in America," Cornyn said.

The bill is also opposed by the American Petroleum Institute, a top oil and gas lobbying group. In a letter to the committee's leaders, API said Nopec "creates significant potential detrimental exposure to US diplomatic, military and business interests while likely having limited impact on the market concerns driving the legislation".

The bill, meanwhile, comes amid a growing attitude in Congress to punish Saudi Arabia for its refusal to cooperate with the US on a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as a number of human rights issues.

Last month, a group of leading lawmakers sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on the administration to rebalance ties with Riyadh, citing Saudi Arabia's refusal to boost oil production in recent months.

Tom Malinowski, a Democratic congressman, tweeted on Thursday: "The main reason gas prices are sky high is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are deliberately helping Russia, and undercutting our sanctions, by refusing to increase oil production".

The congressman also recently sent a letter to the administration seeking to rein in any countries receiving American weapons while also being involved in the harassment of dissidents living in the US.

[64jaguar]

8 hours ago, horsesoldier said:

He still looks like Jeff Dunham's " buddy " Walter

 

He's Making a Left turn.... he's making another Left turn.....

 

Walter has slow Joe beat by a mile and he's a piece of wood...

 

Another three years of this clown and his handlers like O'bummer and you can stick a fork in the U.S.!

 

Where ya gonna go, that's the question!!

[psdon]

1 hour ago, 64jaguar said:

 

He's Making a Left turn.... he's making another Left turn.....

 

Walter has slow Joe beat by a mile and he's a piece of wood...

 

Another three years of this clown and his handlers like O'bummer and you can stick a fork in the U.S.!

 

Where ya gonna go, that's the question!!

We can't go to hell we are already there🥵

["Fred"]

11 hours ago, horsesoldier said:

He still looks like Jeff Dunham's " buddy " Walter

 

[Dinarrock]

3 hours ago, "Fred" said:

 

Absolute BEST POST OF THE YEAR!!!

[nannab]

4 hours ago, Dinarrock said:

Absolute BEST POST OF THE YEAR!!!

 

True but we love Walter  

[yota691]

Will America Be Able To Confiscate The Iraqi Reserves According To The New “Nubk” Law??

 

LAST UPDATE 05/10/2022 | 2:08 PM

Books/ Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi…

The most dangerous American law (NOPEC) facing oil-exporting countries, ending the financial abundance of producing countries due to the rise in oil prices, as a result of this law, which may become effective within a few weeks, and America will be the one who sets oil prices, as the law gives it the right to take measures Legal for the oil-exporting countries (OPEC) (OPEC) to raise oil prices depending on their monopolistic agreements within the framework of OPEC, and since most of the reserves of the world's countries, including Iraq, are in US dollars, meaning that they are in the US Federal Bank, the US judiciary, according to this law, gives the right to the US government To confiscate the money of any country if it moves in a monopolistic manner within the (OPEC) or (OPEC +) system to raise oil prices, as is the case now……….

 

But the good news is that the major American oil companies are against this law because it contradicts their interests, and the adoption of the law requires the approval of the President of the Republic, Biden, and perhaps he will not agree. A few weeks……

[psdon]

4 hours ago, yota691 said:

Will America Be Able To Confiscate The Iraqi Reserves According To The New “Nubk” Law??

 

LAST UPDATE 05/10/2022 | 2:08 PM

Books/ Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi…

The most dangerous American law (NOPEC) facing oil-exporting countries, ending the financial abundance of producing countries due to the rise in oil prices, as a result of this law, which may become effective within a few weeks, and America will be the one who sets oil prices, as the law gives it the right to take measures Legal for the oil-exporting countries (OPEC) (OPEC) to raise oil prices depending on their monopolistic agreements within the framework of OPEC, and since most of the reserves of the world's countries, including Iraq, are in US dollars, meaning that they are in the US Federal Bank, the US judiciary, according to this law, gives the right to the US government To confiscate the money of any country if it moves in a monopolistic manner within the (OPEC) or (OPEC +) system to raise oil prices, as is the case now……….

 

But the good news is that the major American oil companies are against this law because it contradicts their interests, and the adoption of the law requires the approval of the President of the Republic, Biden, and perhaps he will not agree. A few weeks……

This will get Iraqi to push the  and dump the U.S. dollar and go to IQD JMHO

[Officiallytook]

...so they gonna go to war with em? I'm not understanding, international lawsuit, I mean come on man the tyranny is enough already no?

[Cherysh]

On 5/6/2022 at 11:20 AM, Stelardoc said:

Only upside to that is that the 3 stooges are dead.

Could we be so lucky ?

We have to shut down the clone/clown factory 

At least destroy the software for evil selfish knot heads

3 Stooges much more entertaining😂

But where does Kamala fit in to all that??? Don't want her anywhere near our constitution either!!!