Cantwell condemns oil companies' trickery
As the Senate engages in a fierce debate over whether oil drilling should be allowed in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, the Wall Street Journal has reported this morning that the Alaska Gasline Port Authority has filed an antitrust suit against two oil companies in Fairbanks.
The lawsuit alleges that “BP PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil companies, are conspiring to withhold natural gas from U.S. markets and reinforce their market power over North Slope supplies.”
Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is working extremely hard to ensure that BP and Exxon Mobil get an extra large Christmas gift (or, for Bill O'Reilly, a "holiday" gift) at the expense of the environment and American taxpayers.
Senator Maria Cantwell had this to say about the oil companies' trickery:
We will gain nothing from opening up the Refuge to drilling - and we will lose a lot. There isn't even a tradeoff. This is without a doubt, an attempt to sell out one of America's national treasures to greedy oil companies.
Please help Senator Cantwell in the fight to save the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Use MoveOn's special LTE tool to write a letter to a local newspaper, and sign Senator Cantwell's petition to the United States Senate, asking fellow senators to stand up and fight back against Stevens' political tricks.
The lawsuit alleges that “BP PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil companies, are conspiring to withhold natural gas from U.S. markets and reinforce their market power over North Slope supplies.”
Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is working extremely hard to ensure that BP and Exxon Mobil get an extra large Christmas gift (or, for Bill O'Reilly, a "holiday" gift) at the expense of the environment and American taxpayers.
Senator Maria Cantwell had this to say about the oil companies' trickery:
The Alaska Gasline Port Authority antitrust suit raises real concerns that something is being done by the oil and gas industry to artificially suppress supply and raise the price of fuels.Once again, we commend Senator Cantwell for her tremendous leadership on this very important issue. It is imperative that we prohibit drilling or development of any sort in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, of the world's greatest untouched wildernesses.
The Senate is currently debating giving these same oil companies unfettered access to additional oil fields in Alaska – oil fields located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Holding up critical funding for our troops to give Christmas bonuses that oil companies accused of manipulating prices to hurt Americans at the gas pump is ludicrous.
For months I have been demanding a formal investigation into price gouging. The fact that we are considering a giveaway on the floor of the Senate to these same oil companies accused of making America’s energy price situation worse is obscene. The Alaska suit makes it clearer than ever that these company executives must come before Congress to explain their pricing practices.
We will gain nothing from opening up the Refuge to drilling - and we will lose a lot. There isn't even a tradeoff. This is without a doubt, an attempt to sell out one of America's national treasures to greedy oil companies.
Please help Senator Cantwell in the fight to save the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. Use MoveOn's special LTE tool to write a letter to a local newspaper, and sign Senator Cantwell's petition to the United States Senate, asking fellow senators to stand up and fight back against Stevens' political tricks.
