Markey, Barragán Introduce Bill to Hold Big Oil Accountable for Collusion with OPEC

Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (July 24, 2024) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Climate, Clean Air, and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44), member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today introduced the Big Oil Collusion Accountability Act,legislation that would hold fossil fuel companies accountable for colluding with OPEC to raise prices. If a company is found by the Federal Trade Commission to have colluded with OPEC, the company would no longer be eligible for new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. To the extent allowable by law, the Department of Interior would also be required to cancel the company's existing oil and gas leases, and would not renew or extend any leases once their terms expire.

In May of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield of exchanging hundreds of messages with OPEC officials to artificially inflate oil prices. Recently, the media reported the FTC is investigating the executives of several big oil companies for signs of collusion with OPEC, including Hess Corp, Occidental, and Diamondback Energy.

"When oil executives collude with OPEC officials-coordinating oil output and prices and engaging in illegal price-fixing with foreign leaders-there must be consequences," said Senator Markey. "The Big Oil Collusion Accountability Act would ensure that if the Federal Trade Commission finds collusion between a producer and any OPEC countries, that producer would no longer be eligible for federal oil and gas leases on American public lands and waters-a first step towards ensuring Big Oil gets Big Consequences when they profiteer off the backs of hard-working Americans."

"As we work to urgently transition our country off fossil fuels and invest in clean energy alternatives, American consumers should not pay unfair prices at the pump to pad the fossil fuel industry's pocketbook," said Rep. Barragán. "We need a strong deterrent to ensure fossil fuel companies cannot price fix. I'm proud to introduce this bill with Senator Markey to ensure we hold oil companies accountable for illegal price-fixing schemes that hurt American's wallets."

"The Big Oil Collusion Accountability Act is crucial to holding Big Polluters and Big Oil accountable for their role in the climate crisis and protecting public lands from future drilling," said Leah Donahey, Senior Federal Advocacy Campaigns Director at the League of Conservation Voters. "We cannot let them continue to lie to us about the impacts Big Oil and Gas and the fossil fuel industry has on climate change. While consumers have been feeling the pain of high gas prices at the pump, as a result of price-gouging, Big Oil and Gas CEOs have been making record profits. It's time to end this corruption and handouts and invest in clean energy that will lower costs for consumers."

"This bill would put an important check on oil companies colluding and conniving to reap massive profits at everyday Americans' expense," said Jason Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute. "The allegation that Big Oil is colluding with OPEC to raise energy prices for consumers is just the latest example of this industry's greed and deception. It's past time to get Big Oil off our public lands and waters and hold it accountable for its deceit."

"As we confront the urgent need to transition off fossil fuels and tackle the climate crisis, the Big Oil Collusion Accountability Act is an important step to prevent price fixing and collusion that unfairly burdens Americans. These allegations reveal a blatant exploitation of public trust, allowing oil companies to reap exorbitant profits while driving up costs for consumers. This act is a first step to hold Big Oil accountable and can pave the way for more bold action to stop Big Oil from blocking a just transition off fossil fuels," said Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. Manager at Oil Change International.

"The oil and gas industry has shamelessly sought to jack up energy prices and enrich their executives and investors while American families pay the price," said Sierra Club Director of Beyond Fossil Fuels Policy Mahyar Sorour. "Companies that collude with foreign interests to raise our energy prices deserve to be punished, and they certainly should not have continued access to profit off of our public lands. We applaud Rep. Barragan and Sen. Markey for their leadership in fighting back against fossil fuel industry greed."

"We applaud Representative Barragan and Senator Markey for introducing the Big Oil Collusion Accountability Act," said Jim Walsh, Policy Director at Food & Water Watch. "It's crystal clear that the pain at the pump that Americans are facing is the product of Big Oil greed and collusion. We need government regulators to act in the public interest to check these greedy corporations, and we need legislation like this that would put an end to business as usual for Big Oil profiteers."

The following members of Congress have cosponsored the bill: Raul Grijalva, Rashida Tlaib, Andre Carson, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dina Titus, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kevin Mullin, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Jared Huffman.

The following organizations have endorsed the bill: League of Conservation Voters, Oil Change International, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Food & Water Watch

The text of the bill is available HERE.

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