Scott Sheffield, the founder and former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, has accused Exxon Mobil of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against him. Sheffield claims Exxon, in cooperation with regulators, engineered allegations of collusion with OPEC to prevent him from securing a board seat at Exxon following its $64.5 billion acquisition of Pioneer. This comes after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the Exxon-Pioneer deal but barred Sheffield from joining Exxon's board or serving in an advisory capacity, citing his alleged attempts to coordinate oil output with OPEC and other shale producers to raise prices.
The FTC's complaint specifically alleged that Sheffield, through public statements and private communications, tried to collude with OPEC and OPEC+ representatives to reduce oil output, which would lead to higher crude oil and fuel prices for American consumers. The consent order from the FTC prohibits Exxon from nominating Sheffield to its board or having him serve in any advisory role for 10 years, and also restricts other Pioneer employees or directors from joining Exxon's board for five years, with certain exceptions.
Sheffield, often referred to as the "dean of U.S. shale," was accused by the FTC of using his influence to align oil production across the Permian Basin with OPEC+. The FTC's deputy director of the Bureau of Competition, Kyle Mach, stated that Sheffield's past conduct made it clear he should not be near Exxon's boardroom. While the acquisition itself did not raise concerns about market concentration or head-to-head competition between Exxon and Pioneer, the FTC's focus was on the potential for coordination and harm to competition if Sheffield were on Exxon's board. Sheffield has publicly contested these allegations, stating that he feels he was set up.
