Senator Warren looking for answers concerning what she feels is corporate greed from energy companies

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is looking for answers from energy companies who she says are gaming the system by raising natural gas prices for consumers to boost profits. Recent reporting from the Wall Street Journal revealed that energy companies are exporting more natural gas than ever while limiting domestic supply. In her letters to the nation’s largest natural gas producers, Senator Warren blasted what she feels is corporate greed and asked for an explanation for their decisions to export record amounts of natural gas while imposing price increases.

“I am writing regarding my concern about rising natural gas prices for American consumers, the impact this will have for families struggling to pay their bills and keep their homes warm this winter, and the extent to which these price increases are being driven by energy companies’ corporate greed and profiteering as they ‘moved record amounts of U.S. gas out of the country,’” wrote Senator Warren.

Senator Warren continued: “The cause of rapidly rising energy prices for consumers and manufacturers is clear: some of the nation’s largest and most profitable oil and gas companies are putting their massive profits, share prices and dividends for investors, and millions of dollars in CEO pay and bonuses ahead of the needs of American consumers and the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, exporters are sending record amounts of natural gas out of the country, causing domestic energy prices to soar and forcing consumers to pay for huge winter heating bills.

ConocoPhillips reported a more than 100% increase in the realized price of natural gas compared to 2020. ExxonMobil reported that rising prices could lift third-quarter profits by up to $1.5 billion and BP’s trading team made more than $500M during the third quarter of 2021 due to gas crises.

Senator Warren is calling on ConocoPhillips, EQT, Exxon Mobil, Coterra, BP, Antero Resources, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Ascent Resources, Southwestern Energy Company, Range Resources Corporation, and Occidental Petroleum Corporation to answer her questions concerning decisions to export record amounts of natural gas while imposing price increases by no later than December 3, 2021.

Senator Warren has been calling for investigations into corporations who she says are engaging in anticompetitive practices and driving up their prices. She recently sent a letter requesting the Department of Justice investigate mergers and anticompetitive behavior, including price fixing, among the country’s four largest poultry companies as costs for chicken and turkey are spiking.