'Incredibly damaging': US oil lobby chief opposes proposal to have Texas conspire with OPEC
by Josh Siegel
March 20, 2020 02:36 PM The head of the largest U.S oil industry lobbying group is pushing back against proposals to resolve the crude oil price crash that would involve American officials negotiating a joint cut in production with OPEC and Russia â — or even banning their imports.
“We have always supported the market to be an arbiter of the price of oil and gas, and during times of crisis it is not appropriate to abandon those principles,†Mike Sommers, the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, told the Washington Examiner.
Sommers is particularly opposed to a proposal from a commissioner of the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil production in the biggest producer state.
The commissioner, Ryan Sitton, proposed in a Bloomberg op-ed Friday that the railroad commission could use its authority to issue “pro-rationing†schedules — a power unused since 1973 — to force Texas producers to cut production to raise the price of oil. He said Texas could cut production 10% in exchange for Saudi Arabia and Russia each doing the same.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/incredibly-damaging-us-oil-lobby-chief-opposes-proposal-to-have-texas-conspire-with-opec