Big oil companies beat consumer lawsuit over production, prices

Several oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron, won a appeal months of consumers who accused them of colluding with former US President Donald TrumpRussia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production, raising prices at the pump.

In a 3-0 decision, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco two dozen CONSUMER could not pursue class action claims because them in question political questions and the oil– the development of the policies of foreign countries.

Court It also found a lack of evidence that oil companies violated antitrust law by conspiring to raise prices.

Other defendants included Devon Energy, Energy Transfer, Occidental Petroleum, Phillips 66, Continental Resources, Hilcorp Energy and the American Petroleum Institute.

ITConsumer advocates did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The process resulted from a price war which broke out in March 2020 between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Both countries quickly boosted output, ending three years of output and sales caps after Russia rejected cuts proposed by Saudi Arabia and other OPEC producers.

Consumers said complaints from oil companies about falling prices prompted the Trump administration to persuade oil-producing countries to slash productionincreasing the profitability of the industry.

In about two years, the price of a barrel of oil LCOc1 rose above $100 from less than $20, while the retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. more than doubled at over $5.

In Monday’s ruling, Circuit Judge Ryan Nelson said courts should not second-guess the White House’s foreign policy and do not have the authority to order Russia and Saudi Arabia how to manage their oil resources.

He also said the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 had sharply reduced oil demand and was an “obvious alternative explanation” for why oil companies cut production.

Monday’s decision upheld a January 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California.

Nelson was appointed to the bench by Trump, a Republican. The other judges on Monday’s panel, Ronald Gould and Richard Tallman, were appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

The case is D’Augusta et al v American Petroleum Institute et al, 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, no. 23-15878.

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