The Department of Justice is carrying out a formal review of legislation which would end sovereign immunity and allow Washington to sue the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the 15-member group which controls 81.5 percent of the world's proven oil reserves, Bloomberg has reported, citing a DoJ official.
According to the official, the DoJ 'would frown upon' the 'type of conduct' enabling OPEC to slap production quotas on crude oil, with quotas blamed for raising the price of gas for US consumers.
OPEC and Russia agreed to rein in output in June in a bid to stabilize prices following cuts started in January 2017 to drain the oil glut which led to oil prices dropping to under $30 a barrel. Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates ramped up production earlier this month amid dropping Venezuelan output and falling prices. The June output restrictions deal will expire at the end of the year. OPEC is expected to meet in Vienna on December 6 amid expectations that it will curb output in 2019.