Top Dems Urge Biden To Nationalize Oil & Gas Industry
The energy crisis is worsening. The U.S. has fewer than 30 days of diesel and other distillate fuels, the lowest level since 1945.
In response, influential Democrats, including a leading U.S. Senate candidate, a former Department of Energy official, and an influential energy expert, are urging the U.S. government to socialize America’s oil and gas firms.
At a Houston conference last week, Jason Bordoff, Dean of Columbia University’s Climate School, called for the “nationalization” of oil and gas companies. “Government must take an active role in owning assets that will become stranded,” he said, “and plan to strand those assets.” By “strand” Bordoff meant “make financially worthless.”
The calls come on the heels of two other Democrat-led efforts to expand U.S. government control over oil and gas production.
One is a piece of legislation called “NOPEC,” which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in May.
The bill would change U.S. antitrust law to revoke a policy of sovereign immunity, which protects OPEC+ members from lawsuits. If NOPEC became law, the U.S. attorney general could sue Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members in court. The result could be a disruption of global supplies of oil and other commodities if nations retaliated against the U.S.
The other is an effort led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to cap the price of Russian oil sold on global markets, which I and many other experts have warned since June is unworkable, because China and India have said they would circumvent it, and could backfire, resulting in far higher oil prices.
Last week, analysts with Rapidan Energy told the same Houston conference that the December 5 implementation of the Russian price cap could reduce global supplies of oil by 1.5 million barrels per day. Such an amount would create an oil price shock.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/top-dems-urge-biden-nationalize-oil-gas-industry
If NOPEC became law, the U.S. attorney general could sue Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members in court.
I agree with everything you’re saying.
But one question…..what court will Saudi Arabia be sued in? A US Federal Court? Cool. Saudi Arabia shuts down their embassy and consulates in the US, kicks all US diplomats out of Saudi Arabia and sells their oil to everyone else.
Is Saudi going to get a Failure To Appear summons? They’re a sovereign nation. The US can’t do anything to it.