FTC Says Ex-Pioneer CEO Tried to Collude With OPEC on Oil Prices

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Former Pioneer Natural Resources Chief Executive Scott Sheffield attempted to collude with representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to coordinate production and raise oil prices, U.S. antitrust enforcers said.

Officials at the Federal Trade Commission have decided to refer the allegations against Sheffield to the Justice Department for a potential criminal investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. It is unclear if the FTC has contacted the department yet.

The allegations, unveiled by the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday, come as Exxon Mobil struck an agreement with antitrust enforcers not to add Sheffield to its board of directors. The agreement allows Exxon to close a $60 billion stock deal to acquire rival Pioneer as early as this week.

The FTC said the proposed consent order seeks to prevent Sheffield from engaging in collusive activity that would potentially raise crude-oil prices.

“Mr. Sheffield’s past conduct makes it crystal clear that he should be nowhere near Exxon’s boardroom. American consumers shouldn’t pay unfair prices at the pump simply to pad a corporate executive’s pocketbook,” said Kyle Mach, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

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The accusations are a blow to Sheffield, who as part of the deal with Exxon was set to join that company’s board. Some antitrust experts criticized the move as overreach by the FTC.

“During Mr. Sheffield’s career, it was neither the intent nor an effect of his communications to circumvent the laws and principles protecting market competition,” Pioneer said Thursday. The company said it and Sheffield aren’t taking any steps that would stop Exxon’s acquisition.

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Federal regulators said Sheffield had exchanged hundreds of messages with OPEC representatives and officials discussing crude-market dynamics, pricing and output. They said that through “public statements, text messages, in-person meetings, WhatsApp conversations and other communications while at Pioneer, Sheffield sought to align oil production across the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico with OPEC+.” OPEC+ is the wider group of oil producers that includes OPEC and several others led by Russia.

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The FTC’s proposed consent order, in addition to barring Sheffield from the board, requires that for a period of five years, Exxon won’t add any Pioneer employee or director to its board, other than certain named individuals.

The FTC didn’t accuse Exxon of wrongdoing.

“We learned about these allegations from the Federal Trade Commission,” an Exxon spokeswoman said. “They are entirely inconsistent with how we do business.”

Exxon said that Richard Dealy, the current Pioneer CEO, will join the company and that Maria Dreyfus, a Pioneer board member, will join Exxon’s board.

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