The planned merger of Chevron and Hess has cleared antitrust concerns from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with an agreement to prohibit Hess CEO John B. Hess from joining its Board of Directors.
In reviewing the merger, the FTC had issued a complaint concerning Hess’s communications with members of producer group OPEC and an official from Saudi Arabia, where he stressed the importance of oil market stability and inventory management. It also alleges that Hess encouraged his OPEC competitors to stabilize output and draw stocks down, actions that generally can lead to higher prices for crude oil and products like transportation fuels.
Hess will instead serve as an advisor to Chevron on government relations and social investments in Guyana and support for the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative.
Last October, Chevron announced an agreement to buy Hess in a deal valued at $60 billion (see Surprise, Surprise) to grow and diversify its E&P activities, with an eye on the prolific Guyana assets.
Although the deal has cleared the FTC's antitrust review, with stipulation, there are still other closing conditions that need to be satisfied. That includes resolving the ongoing arbitration proceedings, regarding preemptive rights on the joint operating agreement of the Stabroek development in Guyana, Chevron said in a statement. An arbitration hearing has been scheduled for May 2025 to resolve this dispute that has been raised by ExxonMobil and China's CNOOC.
