U.S. showdown with Saudis could push NOPEC to the goal line
President Donald Trump's tough words for OPEC could have some real teeth
if the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2018 gains
momentum.
The proposal, being kicked around in Congress, would allow the U.S.
government to sue the oil cartel for limiting the production or
distribution of oil and manipulating prices.
Crude oil prices have been trending up in recent weeks as the United
States prepares to impose sanctions on Iran. Trump has called on the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production
to push prices down. At its most recent meeting, OPEC ignored calls to
increase production.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is considering the so-called "NOPEC"
bill, claiming that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Nigeria are violating U.S.
antitrust laws. It gives the U.S. Attorney General authority to sue
countries in a district court. Senate Bill 3214 amends The Sherman Act,
which broke up monopolies a century ago.
"Given how politically sensitive gasoline prices are and how much
political support suing OPEC would have, it interjects enormous risk"
into the oil market, said Bob McNally, president of the Rapidan Energy
Group.
Trump slammed OPEC in a Tweet before the oil cartel met with leaders of other oil producers, including Russia.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump wrote in a 2011 book that Congress should pass NOPEC.
The Saudis are taking this seriously -- they recently hired a lobbyist in Washington D.C. to fight the bill.
Crude oil remained strong Tuesday, holding on to the gains they made
Monday. Brent remains at $85.18 a barrel while WTI is trading at $75.37
at mid-day.
In other oil news, Kuwait has not exported crude oil to the United
States in four weeks, the Energy Information Administration reported.
Asian markets are proving to be more lucrative than the United States
for the emirate.
https://www.geezgo.com/sps/41440
Join Geezgo for free. Use Geezgo's end-to-end encrypted Chat with your Closenets (friends, relatives, colleague etc) in personalized ways.>>
No comments