U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators on May 30 asked the attorney general to investigate allegations of collusion and price fixing between the oil industry and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Earlier in May, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) gave the go-ahead to Exxon Mobil's $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources, but barred former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield from Exxon's board on allegations he attempted to collude with OPEC to raise oil prices.
"These reports are alarming and lend credence to the fear that corporate avarice is keeping prices artificially high," the senators said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and his antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter.
"We therefore urge the Department of Justice to investigate the oil industry, to hold accountable any liable actors, and to end any illegal activities," the letter said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she cannot comment on specific cases, and that "the President has made clear that any illegal collusion between big corporations is unacceptable and rips off hardworking families, including if it raises prices at the pump."
Sheffield coordinated efforts with U.S. shale oil producers to constrain their output and raise energy prices, the FTC said on May 2.
Widely considered the dean of U.S. shale because of his long tenure and blunt comments on industry output and spending, Sheffield used his influence "to align oil production across the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico with OPEC+," the FTC added at the time.
A representative for Sheffield's lawyers referred to comments made earlier this week when Sheffield asked the FTC to dismiss the ban. "At no time did government officials and Mr. Sheffield exchange competitively sensitive information," said Sheffield's counsel Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Recommended Reading
Freeport LNG Parent Receives Junk-level Credit Score From Fitch
2024-07-25 - Credit-rating firm Fitch Ratings cited the 2 Bcf/d Texas plant’s frequent downtimes among the factors leading to lowering Freeport LNG Investments LLLP’s credit grade on July 25.
NextDecade Appoints Former Exxon Mobil Executive Tarik Skeik as COO
2024-07-25 - Tarik Skeik will take up NextDecade's COO reins roughly two months after the company disclosed it had doubts about remaining a “going concern.”
Golden Pass LNG Likely Delayed After Engineering Firm Lays Off 4,400
2024-06-06 - An analyst estimated Golden Pass LNG’s in-service date could be set back six months and that the export terminal’s owners, Exxon Mobil and Qatar Energy, might try to retain workers formerly employed by Zachry Engineering.
Cheniere Increases Share Repurchase Budget by $4B Through 2027
2024-06-18 - Cheniere will also increase its quarterly dividend by approximately 15% to $2 per share annualized.
MidOcean Appoints Lumens to CFO
2024-05-14 - Armand Lumens most recently served as the group CFO of Neptune Energy, where he helped develop the company’s financial and IT strategies.