In their letter, the senators called for a full probe into possible industry violations of the Sherman Act, the 1890 law barring monopolies and anticompetitive agreements. They specifically cite recent allegations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that ex-Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield colluded with the OPEC oil group on price-fixing activity.
The FTC recently approved ExxonMobil’s $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources on the condition that Sheffield, who retired as CEO in 2023 but retained a seat on its board of directors, not be part of the new entity’s board. Lawyers for Sheffield have called the agency’s allegations “a false narrative … and a farfetched interpretation of the applicable statutes.”
“From pre-pandemic times to current day, industry collusion may have contributed to the 49% decrease in the U.S. oil production growth rate,” the Democrats wrote in their letter. “Pioneer’s and its co-conspirators’ collusion may have cost the average American household up to $500 per car in increased annual fuel costs — an unwelcome tax that is particularly burdensome for lower-income families.
“Meanwhile, Western oil majors collectively earned more than $300 billion in profits over the last two years, a surge that many market experts believe cannot be explained away by increased production costs from the pandemic or inflation.”
An ExxonMobil spokesperson declined comment to The Hill.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
