WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission took a step toward potentially reversing bans on certain oil executives joining the boards of Chevron and Exxon Mobil that the Biden administration made a condition to letting them acquire two other oil producers.
Exxon, which acquired Pioneer Natural Resources, had agreed to bar former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield from its board, and Chevron, which acquired Hess, consented to a similar order keeping that company’s CEO, John Hess, off its board.
The FTC said on Friday that it was seeking public comment on petitions filed by Sheffield, Chevron and Hess Corp seeking to reverse the bans.
Exxon, the No. 1 U.S. oil company, bought Pioneer in a deal worth $59.5 billion, and Chevron acquired Hess for $53 billion.
Both deals got the greenlight from the FTC, then led by Chair Lina Khan, on the condition that Hess and Sheffield be barred from the respective boards over concerns they would coordinate with members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries group of oil producers.
Both John Hess and Sheffield denied the allegations.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, then a commissioner, and fellow Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak voted against the agreements, saying they overstepped the agency’s authority.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Ismail Shakil in Washington and Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)
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