House Democrats demand hearing on Big Oil collusion

By Emma Dumain | 05/29/2024 01:36 PM EDT

The request is the latest shot in the ongoing energy back-and-forth on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) is calling for a hearing on oil industry practices following claims a former executive colluded to set crude prices. Francis Chung/POLITICO

The top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee wants Republicans to convene a hearing on allegations that oil majors are engaging in illegal coordination to raise gas prices.

A May 28 letter from ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey to Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington making the request represents the latest in a drumbeat of efforts from Democrats to blame higher prices at the pump on the actions of the fossil fuel industry — not Biden administration environmental policies, as Republicans contend.

Pallone’s letter references a Federal Trade Commission investigation concluding that Scott Sheffield — the former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, now owned by Exxon Mobil — may have attempted to collude with OPEC countries and other oil companies to set crude prices.

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“These are shocking allegations that, if true, have had serious consequences for Americans and the prices they have paid at the pump,” Pallone wrote to McMorris Rodgers.

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