Latest news with #ScottSheffield
E&E News
5 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
FTC denies former oil CEO challenge to order banning him from Exxon board
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday unanimously rejected — for now — a petition from former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield that sought to overturn a consent decree that barred him from joining the board of Exxon Mobil. But the commission said it will consider his arguments under a different process, keeping open the possibility that it will alter the 3-2 decision that barred him from serving on the board. Background: The FTC last year alleged that Sheffield tried to collude with other companies and OPEC on oil prices, something Sheffield denies. Sheffield was not allowed to join Exxon's board as part of the commission's approval of the oil giant's acquisition of Pioneer. Advertisement Sheffield in March petitioned the FTC to overturn that decision, arguing that relying on his statements about the oil business to justify the ban was 'a frontal assault on Mr. Sheffield's constitutionally protected activities.'
ABC News
29-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Tamboran CEO Joel Riddle departs fracking company as Scott Sheffield joins board
Oil and gas heavy hitters from US state of Texas are taking the lead in a fracking company with contracts to supply more than half of the Northern Territory's daily gas needs, an energy analyst says. Joel Riddle has stepped down as CEO and managing director of Tamboran Resources after 12 years in the role. Tamboran has fracking operations in the gas-rich Beetaloo Basin, and last year inked a contract with the NT government to supply gas to the territory from 2026. About 80 per cent of the territory's energy is supplied by gas-fired power stations, which have depended on emergency deals with exporters since 2020. Mr Riddle's sudden departure from Tamboran's top job is not the only change at the company, with two new appointments and one further exit from the boardroom. Texan oil and gas man Scott Sheffield has been named a non-executive director. The Sheffield Group, which includes privately held US-based company Sheffield Holdings LP and Scott Sheffield's billionaire son Bryan Sheffield, is a major shareholder in Tamboran. Energy analyst Saul Kavonic said he believed differences of opinion were behind the sudden departure of Tamboran Resources. "The nature of his leaving, which was very abrupt, to my mind does suggest that there's been a misalignment between [Mr Riddle] and Sheffield," Mr Kavonic told NT Country Hour. "What we've seen here with the installation of Scott Sheffield onto the board is a sign that the Sheffields are taking control of Tamboran and are going to be more much hands-on with driving things forward. Scott Sheffield has a long history in the United States' fossil fuel sector as head of oil and gas company Pioneer, which was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2024. He has also made moves into Australia's gas industry, serving as a director from 2014 to 2017 with Santos, which has significant gas projects underway in the NT. In a statement to the ASX, Tamboran chair and interim CEO Dick Stoneburner said the company remained committed to delivering gas out of the Beetaloo. Last year, the NT government signed a nine-year deal with Tamboran to buy fracked gas from its Beetaloo Basin project. At the time, Mr Riddle said the company would prioritise the NT's gas needs first, ahead of supply to the east coast and international gas markets. In March, the NT government scrapped targets to achieve 50 per cent renewable energy generation by 2030. NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said she was not concerned that the change in leadership at Tamboran would affect the gas supply deal. "We are continuing to look to how we can diversify and shore-up gas security for territorians into the future," she said. "We remain very committed to the Beetaloo being a really important resource."
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scott Sheffield Bashes Exxon Mobil After FTC Clears Him
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revoked a 2024 decision prohibiting former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield from holding an Exxon Mobil position. But after winning the clearance, Sheffield told Hart Energy that 'as for the possibility of joining Exxon's board now, because of actions they have taken in this matter I am no longer interested. 'Exxon signed a rushed, baseless and illegal order barring me and other Pioneer employees from taking an Exxon board seat. In doing so, they effectively broke the commitment they made to me in their merger agreement with Pioneer, the company I founded and led for over 40 years.' Sheffield led Pioneer's merger with Exxon Mobil in 2024 in a $64.5 billion stock and debt assumption deal. 'That seat had been unanimously approved by Pioneer shareholders, based on the value I was prepared to bring to Exxon and its shareholders—not least as someone with 50 years of strategic and operational experience in the U.S. shale industry, experience that Exxon's board currently lacks,' he told Hart Energy. 'For now, I remain one of Exxon's largest individual shareholders and as such will consider other options.' The FTC, chaired at the time of the Pioneer-Exxon Mobil decision by a President Biden nominee, Lina Khan, had voted 3-2 that the merger could go forward if Sheffield holds no position—including in an advisory capacity—in the merged company and no other Pioneer employee hold an Exxon Mobil board seat for at least five years. Khan alleged Sheffield had asked OPEC members to withdraw oil from the market to improve prices. The FTC voted 3-0 July 17 to reopen and set aside the 2024 decision. The FTC consists currently of only three members, all Republican. Sheffield said, 'I appreciate the current commissioners for their willingness to review this case, and I'm obviously pleased that common sense has carried the day in their decision to vacate the prior order. 'Aside from its impact on me personally, the FTC's initial decision, based on an utterly unfounded smear campaign, had a chilling effect on free speech and important policy debates across this critical industry. 'It was important to reverse it.' Sheffield has a lawsuit outstanding against Khan individually in a federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, over the matter. The proceedings there had been on pause awaiting the FTC's decision on whether to revoke the 2024 decision. The FTC reported that, in considering whether to reopen the case, the more than 3,000 public comments didn't find any antitrust violation and didn't allege the Pioneer-Exxon Mobil deal would result in an anticompetitive market. The FTC had asked for public comments this spring on whether to reopen the case. A few comments were submitted online, some in favor and some against. As the deadline approached, though, more than 100 more comments, all against, were submitted online after Khan posted on X about the case, calling for followers to file a comment as the '@FTC is now trying to let this oil exec off the hook.' The FTC reported July 17, 'In light of the complaint's deficiencies, the FTC concluded that maintaining the restrictions on Mr. Sheffield's employment would damage the FTC's credibility and undermine its mission. Vacating the final order is therefore in the public interest.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Wall Street Journal
18-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Oil CEOs Get Their Revenge on Biden's Antitrust Enforcers
When Scott Sheffield agreed to sell his company, Pioneer Natural Resources, to Exxon XOM -3.25%decrease; red down pointing triangle Mobil for $60 billion, he expected to retire with a windfall—and a cushy seat on Exxon's board. Instead, Exxon last year negotiated an agreement with Democratic antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission that barred the oil boss from that role, in exchange for getting the merger approved.
Bloomberg
18-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Pioneer Founder Sheffield No Longer Wants to Join Exxon Board After FTC Ruling
Longtime shale boss Scott Sheffield said he's no longer interested in joining Exxon Mobil Corp.'s board after the US Federal Trade Commission set aside orders barring the founder of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. from the oil giant. The agency, which on Thursday also cleared the way for Hess Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Hess to join Chevron Corp.'s board, had blocked both executives saying they sought to communicate with OPEC about oil pricing and output.
