District of New Mexico Allows Antitrust Claims by Indirect Fuel Purchasers Against Major Shale Producers to Proceed, Rejects Act-of-State Defense

District of New Mexico denied motions to dismiss in MDL alleging Hess, Pioneer, Occidental, EOG and four other major shale producers conspired starting in 2021 to restrain domestic oil production to inflate crude prices, finding antitrust standing for indirect purchasers of refined products in a proposed nationwide class seeking injunctive relief and 35-state damages class of end purchasers. The court rejected defendants' OPEC act-of-state defense and allowed claims to proceed on behalf of fuel purchasers downstream of the alleged production restraint conspiracy.