Oil and Gas Industry Antitrust Act of 2006

H.R. 5279, the Oil and Gas Industry Antitrust Act of 2006, aimed to lower energy costs for consumers by increasing federal oversight of the oil and gas industry. The bill would have made it illegal for companies to intentionally withhold or divert fuel supplies to artificially drive up prices or create shortages.

Additionally, the legislation included the "NOPEC" provision, which would have allowed the U.S. government to take legal action against foreign nations or cartels, such as OPEC, for conspiring to fix oil prices or limit production. The bill also mandated federal studies into the impact of industry mergers and established a task force to investigate whether oil companies were unfairly sharing information to manipulate the market.