Oil companies pay record $5.6M settlement after FTC alleges illegal coordination

Three oil companies will pay a record penalty to settle allegations that they illegally coordinated before a merger between them was complete in 2021 and 2022, the federal government announced Tuesday.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said XCL Resources Holdings, Verdun Oil Company II and EP Energy LLC (EP) will pay a record $5.6 million in the civil case. 

A legal complaint made public Tuesday said Verdun, which was under common management with XCL at the time, purchased EP. It says under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act, the companies needed to abide by a waiting period before transferring any control from one business to another — but that they transferred “significant operational control” of EP to XCL and Verdun during this period.

It particularly accused XCL of halting EP’s oil development activities “at a time when the United States was experiencing significant supply shortages and spiking crude oil prices.”

The Hill has attempted to reach the companies for comment.

As oil and gasoline prices spiked in 2021 and 2022 amid COVID-related economic factors and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Democrats frequently accused the energy industry of price gouging. The industry has denied such allegations, and largely, analysts attributed price jumps to economic factors.

The FTC, meanwhile, has in recent years given the oil and gas industry significant scrutiny, accusing one firm of colluding with foreign producers and also probing proposed mergers.

President-elect Trump, meanwhile, has said he would loosen FTC scrutiny of the oil industry, The Washington Post reported earlier this year.