By Connor Hart


The Federal Trade Commission approved a consent order resolving antitrust concerns over Chevron's $53 billion acquisition of Hess.

Under the final order, Chevron is prohibited from nominating, designating or appointing Hess Chief Executive John Hess to its board, the FTC said Friday.

Barring certain exceptions, the oil company will additionally be blocked from allowing Hess to serve as an advisor, consultant or representative of its board, according to the order.

The FTC sought to prevent Hess from joining Chevron's board in September, alleging that he had previously communicated with competitors about global oil output and other dimensions of crude-oil market competition.

The agency's complaint came almost a year after Chevron said it would buy Hess, a deal the oil company at the time said would upgrade and diversify its portfolio, while also picking up additional U.S. shale assets largely in North Dakota.

The FTC has ramped up its scrutiny of oil and gas deals as the oil patch has seen frantic M&A activity.

Also on Friday, it finalized a separate consent order resolving antitrust concerns over Exxon Mobil's roughly $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, prohibiting the latter company's founder and former CEO from serving on Exxon's board.


Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-25 1854ET