U.S. bill pressuring OPEC+ after oil production cut gains momentum

Top U.S. senators from both parties on Thursday gave momentum to a bill pressuring OPEC+ after the group announced a deep cut in oil production this week despite lobbying by President Joe Biden’s administration to keep the taps open.

The so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) bill gained interest after OPEC+, a group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day on Wednesday. OPEC+ moved despite tight global oil supplies worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“What Saudi Arabia did to help (Russian President Vladimir) Putin continue to wage his despicable, vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by Americans,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat. “We are looking at all the legislative tools to best deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action, including the NOPEC bill,” Schumer said in a statement.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican who sponsored NOPEC, said he intends to attach the measure as an amendment to the forthcoming National Defense Authorization Act.