FTC Complaint Against Exxon-Pioneer Merger Reveals Disturbing Attempts to Coordinate with OPEC, Driving Up Prices for Consumers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2024
Contact: Cassidy DiPaola, cassidy@fossilfree.media, 401-441-7196
FTC Complaint Against Exxon-Pioneer Merger Reveals Disturbing Attempts to Coordinate with OPEC, Driving Up Prices for Consumers
Washington, D.C. – Amid profit announcements by oil giants ConocoPhillips and Shell, a bombshell complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has exposed attempts by Scott Sheffield, the former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, to privately coordinate with OPEC officials to cut oil production and raise prices. The revelations come as the FTC is set to approve Exxon's $64 billion acquisition of Pioneer, on the condition that Sheffield not serve on Exxon's board due to concerns about anti-competitive conduct.
"This complaint provides a disturbing look behind the curtain at how Big Oil executives are working hand-in-glove with OPEC to pad their bottom lines at the expense of American consumers," said Cassidy DiPaola, Communications Director at Fossil Free Media. "Even as oil and gas companies are posting record profits, they're colluding behind closed doors to artificially constrain supply and drive prices even higher."
The FTC complaint comes just one day after the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing exposing the fossil fuel industry's decades-long campaign to mislead the public about the catastrophic climate impacts of its products. The hearing, based on a new investigative report, detailed how oil companies have known about the dangers of their products since the 1960s, yet engaged in a coordinated effort to sow doubt and obstruct climate action.
The FTC complaint alleges that Sheffield exchanged WhatsApp messages with high-ranking OPEC officials, assuring them that Pioneer and other Permian Basin producers were committed to limiting output to keep prices high. Sheffield publicly threatened "punishment" for any U.S. companies that increased production and lobbied the Texas Railroad Commission to mandate output cuts.
This attempted coordination with OPEC starkly contrasts with the oil industry's public messaging blaming the Biden administration's policies for constraining domestic production and raising prices. Congressional Republicans have amplified this rhetoric in recent months.
"These revelations blow a hole in Big Oil's bogus narrative that government regulation is holding back U.S. energy production," DiPaola said. "In reality, oil executives themselves are colluding to throttle output and squeeze every last dollar out of consumers, while raking in record profits."
The Exxon-Pioneer merger is part of an accelerating wave of consolidation in the oil and gas industry. Chevron is still battling to secure a $53 billion deal to acquire Hess Corp. back in October 2023, sparking antitrust concerns. Consumer watchdog and climate groups argue these mergers will reduce competition, increase prices, and concentrate immense political power in the hands of a few giant corporations determined to perpetuate oil and gas use.
"As Big Oil vacuums up more companies, it will only enhance their ability to coordinate, crush competition, and obstruct the clean energy transition we desperately need," DiPaola said. "Regulators and lawmakers must act swiftly to block these dangerous mergers and rein in this rogue industry before it's too late."
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