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

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

WASHINGTON: Top U.S. senators from both parties on Thursday gave momentum to a bill pressuring OPEC+ after the group this week announced a deep cut in oil production 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 on Wednesday to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day. OPEC+ made the move despite tight oil global 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.

NOPEC easily passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in May, with support from Democrats including Senator Amy Klobuchar, a former 2020 presidential candidate. It passed a House committee last year.

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