With the Brent crude oil barrel price at more than $75 (£41), politicians are under pressure to relieve the burden on citizens’ pockets. In the past month, the US Congress has proposed a number of actions intended to respond to the public’s concerns over the rising prices of gasoline.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the Oil and Gas Industry Anti-trust Act 2006. If passed into law, this Act will allow lawsuits against the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for conspiring to control output and fix prices, while simultaneously outlawing legitimate joint ventures between oil companies and state-owned oil companies and amend the Clayton Act to prohibit unilateral decisions to refuse to sell, or to withhold or divert, petroleum products “with the primary intention of increasing prices or creating a shortage”.
