The law, if approved, could allow for the filing of lawsuits against oil producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, alleging the increase in oil prices.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Representative Chuck Grassley, Democratic Representative Amy Klobuchar, and others, had 17 votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee, 4 against.
The bill needs to be approved by the Senate and House of Representatives, and then signed by President Joe Biden to become law, knowing that the White House has not yet determined its position in this regard.
Previous versions of the legislation failed in Congress over more than two decades.
NOPEC would change the US antitrust law to abolish the sovereign immunity that has long protected OPEC and state oil companies in their countries from lawsuits.
If NOPEC becomes a law in force, the US attorney general will be able to sue “OPEC” or its members in a federal court, and he will also be able to sue other producers allied with “OPEC”, working with the organization to reduce supplies within the framework of what is known as the “OPEC Plus” group “.
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