Former Pioneer CEO says FTC wrongfully vilified him over Exxon deal

Former Pioneer Natural Resources Co. chief executive Scott Sheffield says federal regulators mischaracterized the facts and wrongly slandered him by saying he tried to collude with OPEC to prop up crude oil prices.

Sheffield, a key figure in the rise of the U.S. shale industry, filed a request with the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday asking the agency to release the proposed consent order for Exxon Mobil Corp.’s $60 billion takeover of Pioneer .

The FTC examined Pioneer executives’ phones but found nothing unusual, Sheffield said in an interview. “They went on this wild ride about me and basically used me as a scapegoat.”

The FTC did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the commission said it would not sue to block Exxon’s takeover of Pioneer, provided Sheffield is removed from the supermajor’s board. The agency said it found evidence that Sheffield tried to communicate with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and others about oil prices and production.

Sheffield said in a separate emailed statement that the FTC’s move “to publicly and unjustifiably defame me will have a chilling effect on the ability of business leaders in every sector of our economy to respond to shareholder demands and to- and exercise the constitutionally protected right to support their industries. .”

The FTC was “struggling” to find a reason to criticize Exxon’s deal for Pioneer, Sheffield’s lawyers wrote in the 23-page filing with the agency. Sheffield was examined under oath for four hours by the regulator on April 9 as part of its six-month investigation into the merger “but was not asked questions about his communications or given any chance to explain them,” according to the file.

Sheffield’s lawyers dispute the FTC’s claim that he exchanged hundreds of text messages with OPEC officials.

He sent a text message to an OPEC official, but it was to connect former OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo with the Texas Railroad Commission “as part of an official government proceeding,” according to the filing. The others were “explosive text messages” that sent public information, such as news, to many recipients, Sheffield’s lawyers wrote.

– Mitchell Ferman and David Wethe for Bloomberg