Bill Allowing US To Sue OPEC Drawing Renewed Interest

With oil prices hitting fresh four-year highs, long-dormant proposals to allow the U.S. to sue OPEC nations are getting a fresh look in Congress, though they were once considered a longshot to becoming law.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee on Oct. 3 will hear testimony on the so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act, or NOPEC, which would revoke the sovereign immunity that has long shielded OPEC members from U.S. legal action.

The bill would change U.S. antitrust law to allow OPEC producers to be sued for collusion; it would make it illegal to restrain oil or gas production or set those prices—removing sovereign immunity that U.S. courts have ruled exists under current law.

Past U.S. leaders have opposed the NOPEC bill, but the possibility of its success may have increased due to President Donald Trump’s frequent criticism of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and as some predict that Brent crude, the international benchmark, could reach $100/bbl before long.