Sheffield says Exxon launched 'smear campaign' to keep him off company's board
Pioneer Natural Resources founder Scott Sheffield alleges ExxonMobil (XOM) collaborated with the Federal Trade Commission in a "smear campaign" to keep him off the company's board following its $60B takeover of his company in 2024.
"I do firmly believe that Exxon schemed against me" in a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission, Sheffield wrote in his new autobiography, From Tehran to the Permian, to be released in early October. "Contrary to Darren's assurances to me, Exxon threw me under the bus at its earliest opportunity," referring to Exxon (XOM) CEO Darren Woods.
The FTC barred Sheffield from joining Exxon's (XOM) board as a condition of its approval for the Pioneer deal, its largest takeover since the company merged with Mobil in 1999.
The move followed an antitrust investigation in which the FTC alleged that Sheffield, who is considered one of the fathers of the U.S. shale oil revolution, colluded with OPEC to push up oil prices.
As part of the merger approval by the Biden administration, Exxon (XOM) signed an FTC consent decree prohibiting it from appointing Sheffield to its board; at the time, the company said the commission's allegations against Sheffield were "entirely inconsistent with how we do business."
Sheffield was cleared of any wrongdoing last year by a Republican-led FTC, but Sheffield said his health suffered for several "excruciating" months during the investigation amid the threat of criminal charges and having his name "dragged through the mud."
"Now I understood why people had been telling me for more than 50 years that the two X's in Exxon stood for the double-cross company," Sheffield wrote in the book, saying he was "set up."
While the merger was the right decision for shareholders because it generated a 19% premium for them, Sheffield said he wished he had not exposed Pioneer employees to Exxon’s (XOM) "notoriously cut-throat and dysfunctional culture."
"I do firmly believe that Exxon schemed against me" in a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission, Sheffield wrote in his new autobiography, From Tehran to the Permian, to be released in early October. "Contrary to Darren's assurances to me, Exxon threw me under the bus at its earliest opportunity," referring to Exxon (XOM) CEO Darren Woods.
The FTC barred Sheffield from joining Exxon's (XOM) board as a condition of its approval for the Pioneer deal, its largest takeover since the company merged with Mobil in 1999.
The move followed an antitrust investigation in which the FTC alleged that Sheffield, who is considered one of the fathers of the U.S. shale oil revolution, colluded with OPEC to push up oil prices.
As part of the merger approval by the Biden administration, Exxon (XOM) signed an FTC consent decree prohibiting it from appointing Sheffield to its board; at the time, the company said the commission's allegations against Sheffield were "entirely inconsistent with how we do business."
Sheffield was cleared of any wrongdoing last year by a Republican-led FTC, but Sheffield said his health suffered for several "excruciating" months during the investigation amid the threat of criminal charges and having his name "dragged through the mud."
"Now I understood why people had been telling me for more than 50 years that the two X's in Exxon stood for the double-cross company," Sheffield wrote in the book, saying he was "set up."
While the merger was the right decision for shareholders because it generated a 19% premium for them, Sheffield said he wished he had not exposed Pioneer employees to Exxon’s (XOM) "notoriously cut-throat and dysfunctional culture."