US oil industry lobbies against tighter sanctions on Russia

A range of issues need to be discussed including... ones related to US and European energy projects

Chris Van Hollen, Democratic Senator

washington — The US oil and gas industry is lobbying against tighter sanctions on Russia that could impact US investments there, congressional sources said on Friday.

The US Senate has revived a bill, called DETER, that would allow for swift sanctions if Moscow was found meddling in future US elections. Both Democrats and Republicans are looking to redress what they consider President Donald Trump’s weak stance on accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 election when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Top US energy company Exxon Mobil is among the firms that have previously opposed US sanctions on Russia. Opponents claim sanctions unfairly penalise US companies while allowing foreign energy rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell and BP to operate in the world’s biggest oil producer.

Western powers imposed sanctions in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen told Reuters on Friday there was growing bipartisan support for his DETER bill.

When asked whether energy industry lobbyists were either opposing the bill or seeking revisions, Van Hollen said that “a range of issues need to be discussed including... ones related to US and European energy projects.”

Van Hollen said that while he was willing to address “reasonable concerns” from industry representatives and other lawmakers, the legislation needed to be robust enough to discourage Moscow from meddling in future US elections.