SEC. 7. MERGER MORATORIUMS. 
(a) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN MERGERS IN OIL IN-
DUSTRY.—Section 7 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘No person engaged in commerce in the petroleum 
industry may be acquired by another person unless the 
acquisition is likely to result in a net benefit to consumers 
by maintaining or increasing competition.’’. 
(b) MORATORIUM
ON
LARGE
PETROLEUM
AND 
CRUEL OIL MERGERS.— 
(1) ONE-YEAR MORATORIUM.—During the one- 
year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and except as provided in paragraph (2), 
with respect to petroleum and crude oil products no 
explorer, producer, transporter, refiner, or wholesale 
distributor of such products, or operator of a retail 
gasoline outlet, with annual net sales or total assets 
of more than $10,000,000 shall merge or acquire, 
directly or indirectly, any voting securities or assets 
of any other such explorer, producer, transporter, re-
finer, distributor, or operator with annual net sales 
or total assets of more than $10,000,000. 
(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may waive the moratorium imposed by para-
graph (1) only under extraordinary circumstances, 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:46 Mar 15, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1500.IH
H1500
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
such as insolvency or similar financial distress of one 
of the affected parties. 
SEC. 8. PETROLEUM INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION AND 
MARKET POWER REVIEW COMMISSION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.—There is es-
tablished a commission to be known as the ‘‘Petroleum 
Industry Concentration and Market Power Review Com-
mission’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’). 
(b) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.— 
(1) STUDY
ON
PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY.—The 
Commission shall study the nature, causes, and con-
sequences of concentration of ownership in the ex-
ploration, production, transportation, refinement, 
wholesale distribution, and retail sale of crude oil 
and petroleum products in the United States in the 
broadest possible terms. 
(2) ISSUES
TO
BE
ADDRESSED.—The study 
shall include an examination of the following mat-
ters: 
(A) The nature and extent of the con-
centration described in paragraph (1). 
(B) Current trends in such concentration 
and what such industry is likely to look like in 
the near term and longer term future. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:46 Mar 15, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1500.IH
H1500
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
(C) The effect of such concentration on the 
exploration, production, transportation, refine-
ment, wholesale distribution, and retail sale of 
crude oil and petroleum products. 
(D) The effect of such concentration on 
prices at the wholesale and retail levels. 
(E) The effect of such concentration on 
consumers of petroleum products, including re-
tail consumers, businesses (including fuel de-
pendent industries such as aviation and truck-
ing), and farmers. 
(F) The relationship between current laws 
and administrative practices and the support 
and encouragement of such concentration. 
(G) Such related matters as the Commis-
sion determines to be important. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 
composed of 12 members as follows: 
(A) Three persons shall be appointed by 
the President pro tempore of the Senate upon 
the recommendation of the Majority Leader of 
the Senate, after consultation with the Chair-
man of the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:46 Mar 15, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1500.IH
H1500
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
(B) Three persons shall be appointed by 
the President pro tempore of the Senate upon 
the recommendation of the Minority Leader of 
the Senate, after consultation with the ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources. 
(C) Three persons shall be appointed by 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
after consultation with the Chairman of the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce. 
(D) Three persons shall be appointed by 
the Minority Leader of the House of Represent-
atives, after consultation with the ranking mi-
nority member of the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 
(A) APPOINTMENTS.—Persons who are ap-
pointed under paragraph (1) shall be persons 
who— 
(i) have expertise in petroleum eco-
nomics and antitrust, or have other perti-
nent qualifications or experience relating to 
petroleum industries; and 
(ii) are not officers or employees of 
the United States. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
02:46 Mar 15, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1500.IH
H1500
jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS