The bill approved by the Senate committee provides for the prosecution of oil exporters for cartel conspiracy. However, the White House is concerned about its “possible unpredictable consequences.”
US attempts to break the blindfold of several selected countries in the market oil has gained new impetus as the war in Ukraine raises prices to almost 14-year high.
A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday passed a bill that could subject the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners, primarily Russia, to lawsuits for conspiracy to raise oil prices, CNN reports.
To become law , the bill must pass all meetings of the Senate and House of Representatives, and then be signed by the President. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the administration was concerned about the “potential and unpredictable consequences” of the law. She said the White House was still studying the bill.
A two-party bill against oil and export cartels, or NOPEC as it is called, will strip OPEC and its national oil companies of the sovereign immunity that has protected them from lawsuits for decades. This means that oil states will no longer be protected from the jurisdiction of US courts if they violate the terms of the bill. If, of course, it comes into force.
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The Biden administration has tried hard to control oil prices, after how Russia's invasion of Ukraine destabilized energy markets and caused inflation inside the country. However, Western sanctions and a potential EU ban on Russian oil risk creating a gap that could exacerbate the market situation.
And with the midterm elections due in November, a window to curb inflation is becoming narrower for the president. So it is difficult to predict what decision will be made in the White House after studying the bill.
