Scott Sheffield, founder of Pioneer Natural Resources, has accused ExxonMobil and regulators of an "orchestrated" smear campaign to prevent him from joining Exxon's board after its $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer. Sheffield alleged that Exxon broke its commitment to him made during the merger agreement. He also claimed that the initial Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decision, which prohibited him from taking a board seat due to alleged collusion with OPEC, was a "baseless and illegal order."
Sheffield's remarks came after the FTC, with a new composition, voted 3-0 on July 17 to reopen and set aside its previous 2024 decision that had barred him from an Exxon board position. The FTC's initial complaint, made in May 2024, alleged that Sheffield had, through public statements and private communications, attempted to collude with OPEC and OPEC+ to reduce oil output, which would lead to higher crude oil prices for consumers. This move was intended to prevent anticompetitive actions and potential board interlocks, as Sheffield also serves on the board of The Williams Companies, Inc., which has overlapping operations with Exxon.
While Sheffield is now cleared by the FTC to potentially join the board, he stated he is "no longer interested" due to Exxon's actions in the matter. He remains one of Exxon's largest individual shareholders and is considering other options. Sheffield also has a pending lawsuit against former FTC Chair Lina Khan in a federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, over the issue, which was paused awaiting the FTC's decision to revoke its 2024 order.
The FTC's reversal came after reviewing over 3,000 public comments, with many not finding any antitrust violation in the Pioneer-ExxonMobil deal. The Commission concluded that maintaining the restrictions on Sheffield would damage its credibility and undermine its mission, thus vacating the final order was deemed to be in the public interest. The original decision had been criticized by Sheffield for having a chilling effect on free speech and policy debates within the critical oil and gas industry.
