US regulator’s Opec collusion claim sets off tremor in oil patch

The Opec building in Vienna. The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday alleged Scott Sheffield, the former head of Pioneer Natural Resources, had tried to co-ordinate production levels with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel to “pad Pioneer’s bottom line . . . at the expense of US households and businesses”.

Under chair Lina Khan, an appointee of US President Joe Biden, the FTC has taken an aggressive approach to its job of protecting competition and consumers. In the past two weeks alone it has banned employee non-compete agreements and sued to the block an $8.5 billion luxury goods industry takeover, arguing the deal “threatens to deprive consumers of the competition for affordable handbags”.

Pioneer said Mr Sheffield, 71, who has lived through six industry downturns, had merely “voiced concerns aimed at raising awareness of the issue and encouraging state, federal and international governments to act”. Sheffield declined to be interviewed.

Among the CEOs who have attended are Occidental Petroleum’s Vicki Hollub, Devon Energy’s Rick Muncrief, Chesapeake Energy’s Nick Dell’Osso and John Hess of Hess. Chesapeake declined to comment, while the other companies did not respond to requests for comment. The move comes six months before Americans head to the polls as officials in the Biden administration fret over the electoral impact of rising prices at the pump.

Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)

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