Senate allows U.S. to sue OPEC for price fixing.

news.yahoo.com.../nm/20050621/pl_nm/energy_congress_opec_dc_1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to allow the U.S. government to sue the OPEC oil cartel on antitrust grounds in an outcry against crude oil prices that are fast approaching the $60 a barrel mark.

The measure, added to wide-sweeping energy legislation by a voice vote, would give authority to the Department of Justice or Federal Trade Commission to sue the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

U.S. crude oil futures hit a record $59.70 per barrel on Tuesday, even after OPEC boosted its production to nearly 25-year highs and U.S. crude inventories swelled to their highest level since July 1999.

OPEC's 11 members account for almost 40 percent of global crude oil production and two-thirds of proven reserves.

"Gas and oil prices are too high and it's time that we do something about it," said Republican Sen. Mike DeWine (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio, who sponsored the amendment along with Democrat Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.

"If OPEC were a group of international private companies rather than foreign governments, their action would be nothing more than an illegal price-fixing scheme," Kohl said.

Republican Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record), the Senate's top energy bill negotiator, called the measure "nothing short of incredible," but did not act to block it.

i doubt it would do anithing against OPEC, suing them. the OPEC nations are sovereign countries and we cant tell them to lower the price of oil per barrel. unless u agree we need to do somthing against them.

That's a complete waste of time. As much as I despise OPEC, The prices are largely determined in futures markets. If they want to point the finger at someone, point it at the financial institutions in the US and Europe that are whipping the public into a frenzy over oil shortage fears, thereby driving up demand for oil futures, and are getting filthy rich doing it.

Seems like a big joke, a measure to make it "appear" that congress is making attempts to curb oil pricing. What a waste of the power Congress actually has.

In order for a lawsuit against OPEC to work it would have to be in an Internationa Court and require several co-complaintants. The US couldn't do it alone but with a multinational complaint it may work, even if only a temporary fix.

:shk: as the above poster stated much of the hike is speculation in the futures market. Demand is high and only the Saudi's actually have the ability to increase production which they have.

Congress needs regime change