S.Amdt. 4741

1. Adds TITLE II--OIL AND GAS at the end of the bill

   Adds a title

   In S. 3711 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (B) any remainder of the qualified outer Continental Shelf revenues shall revert to the general fund of the Treasury.

   Inserted: TITLE II--OIL AND GAS

   Inserted: SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

   Inserted: This title may be cited as the "Oil and Gas Industry Antitrust Act of 2006".

   Inserted: SEC. 202. PROHIBITION ON UNILATERAL WITHHOLDING.

   Inserted: The Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12 et seq.) is amended--

   Inserted: (1) by redesignating section 28 as section 29; and

   Inserted: (2) by inserting after section 27 the following:

   Inserted: "SEC. 28. OIL AND NATURAL GAS.

   Inserted: "(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), it shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to sell, or to export or divert, existing supplies of petroleum, gasoline, or other fuel derived from petroleum, or natural gas with the primary intention of increasing prices or creating a shortage in a geographic market.

   Inserted: "(b) Considerations.--In determining whether a person who has refused to sell, or exported or diverted, existing supplies of petroleum, gasoline, or other fuel derived from petroleum or natural gas has done so with the intent of increasing prices or creating a shortage in a geographic market under subsection (a), the court shall consider whether--

   Inserted: "(1) the cost of acquiring, producing, refining, processing, marketing, selling, or otherwise making such products available has increased; and

   Inserted: "(2) the price obtained from exporting or diverting existing supplies is greater than the price obtained where the existing supplies are located or are intended to be shipped.".

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   Inserted: SEC. 203. REVIEW OF CLAYTON ACT.

   Inserted: (a) In General.--The Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission shall conduct a study, including a review of the report submitted under section 204, regarding whether section 7 of the Clayton Act should be amended to modify how that section applies to persons engaged in the business of exploring for, producing, refining, or otherwise processing, storing, marketing, selling, or otherwise making available petroleum, gasoline or other fuel derived from petroleum, or natural gas.

   Inserted: (b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission shall submit a report to Congress regarding the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a), including recommendations and proposed legislation, if any.

   Inserted: SEC. 204. STUDY BY THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.

   Inserted: (a) Definition.--In this section, the term "covered consent decree" means a consent decree--

   Inserted: (1) to which either the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice is a party;

   Inserted: (2) that was entered by the district court not earlier than 10 years before the date of enactment of this Act;

   Inserted: (3) that required divestitures; and

   Inserted: (4) that involved a person engaged in the business of exploring for, producing, refining, or otherwise processing, storing, marketing, selling, or otherwise making available petroleum, gasoline or other fuel derived from petroleum, or natural gas.

   Inserted: (b) Requirement for a Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study evaluating the effectiveness of divestitures required under covered consent decrees.

   Inserted: (c) Requirement for a Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice regarding the findings of the study conducted under subsection (b).

   Inserted: (d) Federal Agency Consideration.--Upon receipt of the report required by subsection (c), the Attorney General or the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, as appropriate, shall consider whether any additional action is required to restore competition or prevent a substantial lessening of competition occurring as a result of any transaction that was the subject of the study conducted under subsection (b).

   Inserted: SEC. 205. JOINT FEDERAL AND STATE TASK FORCE.

   Inserted: The Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission shall establish a joint Federal-State task force, which shall include the attorney general of any State that chooses to participate, to investigate information sharing (including through the use of exchange agreements and commercial information services) among persons in the business of exploring for, producing, refining, or otherwise processing, storing, marketing, selling, or otherwise making available petroleum, gasoline or other fuel derived from petroleum, or natural gas (including any person about which the Energy Information Administration collects financial and operating data as part of its Financial Reporting System).

   Inserted: SEC. 206. NO OIL PRODUCING AND EXPORTING CARTELS.

   Inserted: (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the "No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2006" or "NOPEC".

   Inserted: (b) Sherman Act.--The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) is amended--

   Inserted: (1) by redesignating section 8 as section 9; and

   Inserted: (2) by inserting after section 7 the following:

   Inserted: "SEC. 8. OIL PRODUCING CARTELS.

   Inserted: "(a) In General.--It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act for any foreign state, or any instrumentality or agent of any foreign state, in the circumstances described in subsection (b), to act collectively or in combination with any other foreign state, any instrumentality or agent of any other foreign state, or any other person, whether by cartel or any other association or form of cooperation or joint action--

   Inserted: "(1) to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product;

   Inserted: "(2) to set or maintain the price of oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product; or

   Inserted: "(3) to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product.

   Inserted: "(b) Circumstances.--The circumstances described in this subsection are an instance when an action, combination, or collective action described in subsection (a) has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum product in the United States.

   Inserted: "(c) Sovereign Immunity.--A foreign state engaged in conduct in violation of subsection (a) shall not be immune under the doctrine of sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction or judgments of the courts of the United States in any action brought to enforce this section.

   Inserted: "(d) Inapplicability of Act of State Doctrine.--No court of the United States shall decline, based on the act of state doctrine, to make a determination on the merits in an action brought under this section.

   Inserted: "(e) Enforcement.--The Attorney General of the United States may bring an action to enforce this section in any district court of the United States as provided under the antitrust laws, as defined in section 1(a) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)).".

   Inserted: (c) Sovereign Immunity.--Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--

   Inserted: (1) in paragraph (6), by striking "or" at the end;

   Inserted: (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting "; or"; and

   Inserted: (3) by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(8) in which the action is brought under section 8 of the Sherman Act.".

   Original wording

   At the end of the bill, add the following:

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As printed