WASHINGTON (AP) — Exxon Mobil's $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources on Thursday received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, but the former CEO of Pioneer was barred from joining the new company's board of directors.
The FTC said Thursday that Scott Sheffield, who founded Pioneer in 1997, colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ to potentially raise crude oil prices. Sheffield retired from the company in 2016, but he returned as president and CEO in 2019, served as CEO from 2021 to 2023, and continues to serve on the board. Since Jan. 1, he has served as special adviser to the company’s chief executive.
“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+,” according to the FTC. It proposed a consent order that Exxon won't appoint any Pioneer employee, with a few exceptions, to its board.
Dallas-based Pioneer said in a statement it disagreed with the allegations but would not impede closing of the merger, which was announced in October 2023.
“Sheffield and Pioneer believe that the FTC’s complaint reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. and global oil markets and misreads the nature and intent of Mr. Sheffield’s actions,” the company said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said it was “disappointing that FTC is making the same mistake they made 25 years ago when I warned about the Exxon and Mobil merger in 1999.”
Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators had urged the FTC to investigate the deal and a separate merger between Chevron and Hess, saying they could lead to higher prices, hurt competition and force families to pay more at the pump.
The deal with Pioneer vastly expands Exxon’s presence in the Permian Basin, a huge oilfield that straddles the border between Texas and New Mexico. Pioneer’s more than 850,000 net acres in the Midland Basin will be combined with Exxon’s 570,000 net acres in the Delaware and Midland Basin, nearly contiguous fields that will allow the combined company to trim costs.
FILE - Pioneer Natural Resources Midland headquarters office is shown on Jan. 13, 2021, in Midland, Texas. Exxon Mobil’s $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources has received clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, but the former CEO of Pioneer was barred from joining the new company’s board of directors. The FTC said Thursday, May 2, 2024 that Scott Sheffield colluded with OPEC and OPEC+ to potentially raise crude oil prices. (Jacob Ford/Odessa American via AP, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An appeals court in South Korea overturned an election law conviction against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung Wednesday, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign.
The courtroom victory comes as the country's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol could face an early exit due to his short-lived imposition of martial law and surveys show Lee, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, is the early favorite to replace him.
Yoon, a conservative, has been suspended from office since the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached him over his Dec. 3 martial law decree plunged the country into political turmoil. The Constitutional Court is deliberating on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate him. If he's removed, there will be an election to replace him within two months.
On Wednesday, the Seoul High Court overturned Lee's conviction for making false statements during his 2022 presidential campaign, canceling his suspended sentence of a year in prison. Lee still faces four other criminal trials, none of which are likely to be resolved soon.
Lee was convicted by the Seoul Central District Court in November of making false statements about a controversial land development project launched when he was a city mayor, and about his relationships with a subordinate who killed himself after being embroiled in a scandal surrounding another development project.
Under South Korean law, anyone who receives a fine exceeding 1 million won ($683) for election law violations is barred from running for elections for five years, and anyone who receives a prison sentence, including suspended sentences, cannot run for 10 years.
Lee might be able to become president despite his conviction in lower-level courts, as the prohibition does not go into force until all appeals are exhausted and as president he would have immunity from most criminal prosecution. Still, observers say that if the appellate court had upheld his conviction it could have posed a significant political challenge.
After the ruling, Lee appeared outside the court and thanked the court for making “a right ruling based on truth and justices” as his supporters shouted his name. Lee accused the Yoon government and state prosecutors of having fabricated evidence against him.
The court said that prosecutors have seven days to appeal Wednesday’s verdict to the Supreme Court, the top court in South Korea.
Yoon's ruling People Power Party expressed strong regret over Wednesday's ruling, saying the Supreme Court must rule quickly on an appeal.
Police officers stand guard as demonstrators stage a rally demanding the arrest of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung near the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Demonstrators stage a rally demanding the arrest of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung near the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The letters read, "Immediately arrest Lee Jae-myung." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Demonstrators stage a rally demanding the arrest of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung near the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. The letters read, "Immediately arrest Lee Jae-myung." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Lee Jae-myung, center, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)
Lee Jae-myung, second right in front, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)
Lee Jae-myung, center, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)
Lee Jae-myung, center, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)
Lee Jae-myung, center, leader of South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party, arrives at a court in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2025. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)
