Washington (Platts)--20May2008

Democrats in the House of Representatives Tuesday succeeded in passing
legislation to allow the United States to take legal action against OPEC if
the oil cartel were found to be conspiring to fix prices, a move the White
House earlier in the day threatened to veto.

The Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act of 2008 (HR 6074), also known as
the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2008," or "NOPEC," was
passed by a vote of 324 to 84.

The bill would make it illegal for any foreign state to collectively
limit oil or natural gas production or to act to control its price, in effect
allowing the attorney general to bring OPEC to court in the US.

The legislation, which was debated Monday, would also create a "Petroleum
Industry Antitrust Taskforce" within the Justice Department to investigate
petroleum market manipulation and collusion by international oil cartels, as
well as petroleum companies.

Earlier Tuesday, the White House sent a "statement of administration
policy" to the House, warning that he would veto the bill (story 1334 GMT).
The House vote was more than the two-thirds tally that would be required to
override a presidential veto.

The Bush Administration has long opposed the notion of allowing lawsuits
against OPEC members, arguing it would provoke a backlash and oil and that
gasoline prices would increase, and it would discourage investment in the US
economy.

Republicans voiced their opposition to the bill on the House floor
Monday, echoing White House calls and saying that it would be more effective
to begin oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf and parts of
Alaska where it is currently banned.

A similar measure was included in a broad energy bill introduced into the
Senate in early May by Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada). A Senate
bill last year with the same intent fizzled under threat of a
presidential veto.

--Derek Sands, derek_sands@platts.com