A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe into a U.S. oil corporation executive’s alleged attempt to conspire with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to manipulate global petroleum markets is spurring calls for a broader federal investigation into possible “price-fixing schemes.”
Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on June 27 announced his office has launched an investigation into claims of “collusive, anti-competitive” activities between 18 U.S. oil producers and OPEC to “artificially raise prices on American consumers and increase costs for the federal government.”
Mr. Whitehouse said the inquiry is triggered by revelations surfacing in the FTC’s investigation into former Pioneer Natural Resources Company CEO Scott Sheffield’s purported attempt “to work with OPEC to manipulate global oil and gas production, increase oil and gas prices, and boost his company’s profits” as part of its review of ExxonMobil’s bid to acquire Pioneer, a $64.5 billion deal that would be the largest oil corporation merger in 20 years….