WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2020) US Congressman Mike Conaway in a statement called on the Trump administration to launch an anti-dumping investigation into Saudi Arabia as oil prices hit historic lows in the United States.
Earlier on Monday, the price of West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in May fell into negative territory for the first time in history, meaning that investors would theoretically pay people to cart away excess crude in their respective inventories. WTI eventually rebounded to finish at $37 per barrel.
"Given today's news, I am calling on the Department of Commerce to conduct an expedited anti-dumping investigation into Saudi Arabia," Conaway said in the statement on Monday. "Enough is enough. We must use all the tools available in our arsenal."
Conaway, who represents a district in the energy state of Texas, added that American oil producers are in a "fight of their lives" and that the US Department of Energy is in talks with nine US oil companies to store domestically produced crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to help alleviate storage shortages.
Another energy state lawmaker, Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma, called for sanctions against Russia and Saudi Arabia, accusing them of engaging in a conspiracy to crush US oil and gas producers in a bid to capture market share.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has shattered the US demand for oil with much of the nation subject to stay-at-home orders and roads nearly devoid of traffic. That, combined with a Russian-Saudi price war, has produced an unprecedented glut that exceeds storage capacity in many countries.
