WASHINGTON: The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether oil companies have engaged in practices that lessened competition or manipulated the wholesale supply of crude oil and products, the commission said on Monday, June 20 in a letter to Senator John Rockefeller.
The commission said, it was also looking into whether oil companies had provided false or misleading information to a federal agency related to the wholesale price of oil or petroleum products.
"We remain committed to preventing and prosecuting any anticompetitive, fraudulent, or otherwise illegal activity, which we identify through the foregoing investigation," commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said in the letter.
The commission said, its probe was spurred by soaring refining margins and reports that U.S. refiners were using less of their capacity than they did last year, as well as other developments.
With oil prices spiking earlier this year, federal regulators have faced pressure to probe for wrongdoing.
Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, and other lawmakers pressed the commission in March to use its authority to crack down on any market manipulation that could be artificially inflating prices.
Last month, another group of senators asked the FTC to probe whether U.S. refiners are cutting gasoline production to keep pump prices high.
The commission said, it was also looking into whether oil companies had provided false or misleading information to a federal agency related to the wholesale price of oil or petroleum products.
"We remain committed to preventing and prosecuting any anticompetitive, fraudulent, or otherwise illegal activity, which we identify through the foregoing investigation," commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said in the letter.
The commission said, its probe was spurred by soaring refining margins and reports that U.S. refiners were using less of their capacity than they did last year, as well as other developments.
With oil prices spiking earlier this year, federal regulators have faced pressure to probe for wrongdoing.
Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, and other lawmakers pressed the commission in March to use its authority to crack down on any market manipulation that could be artificially inflating prices.
Last month, another group of senators asked the FTC to probe whether U.S. refiners are cutting gasoline production to keep pump prices high.
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