OPEC Could Be Sued Under U.S. Legislation

May 6, 2022--Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. lawmakers took up a bill Thursday that would make it possible to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on antitrust grounds, a bill that opponents said would only heighten the geopolitical risk premium supporting the price of oil.

OPEC+, a group that includes the core members of the production group and its non-member state allies, such as Russia, decided Thursday to put another 432,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil on the market come June. The decision was widely expected, given the group's tendencies so far this year to rubber-stamp policy.

Thursday's meeting to consider the June allotment took less than 15 minutes. The allotment, meanwhile, is far less than what many expect the economy needs given the supply-side pressures that resulted from the war in Ukraine.