The highly anticipated ICC ruling makes way for Chevron's acquisition of Hess and the FTC sets aside earlier rulings to allow Hess and Sheffield to join boards.
Before sharing a couple of energy news from the past week, I would like to highlight two pieces of news, both stemming from Dallas. The most exciting is that the “conductor” behind our weekly newsletter Well Read, Kelsey and her husband Mike welcomed their first son, Zachary to the world! Congratulations to Kelsey and her family!
The other Dallasite delivered an unbelievable result - that being Scottie Scheffler winning the British Open title with a dominant performance. I have to admit, I was quite proud of my compatriot Haotong Li, he paired with Scottie in the final group in Day 4, that in itself is a record for any Chinese male golfer.
Now on to the energy news of past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
Chevron Wins Arbitration and Closes Hess Acquisition
Dancing_Man/Shutterstock
The International Chamber of Commerce ruled last week in favor of Chevron over ExxonMobil and Chinese national company CNOOC in the arbitration. ExxonMobil does not agree with the ICC opinion. It however accepted the ruling and welcomed Chevron into Guyana partnership. Chevron completed the Hess acquisition immediately.
ExxonMobil issued a statement, stating “We disagree with the ICC panel’s interpretation but respect the arbitration and dispute resolution process.”
ExxonMobil further said “We welcome Chevron to the venture and look forward to continued industry-leading performance and value creation in Guyana for all parties involved.”
The $53 billion deal was announced on 23 October 2023.
Chevron share price went up by 3 percent on the positive ICC ruling, with Hess price up by 8 percent. ExxonMobil share showed little change.
What to follow:
ExxonMobil (45 percent, operator) will now have Chevron (30 percent) and CNOOC (25 percent) as partners in the Stabroek Block in Guyana.
ExxonMobil has discovered over 11 billion barrels of oil, producing over 600,000 barrels of oil per day with the potential to produce over 1 million barrels of oil per day.
The 92-year old company Hess will stop trading in the NYSE.
Chevron also announced that John Hess has been cleared to join the Chevron Board of Directors, as the Federal Trade Commission lifted an earlier restriction.
Why it matters:
The highly anticipated ICC ruling means that asset level pre-emption rights, as often specified in joint operating statements, remains at asset level.
The common merger and acquisition practice of utilizing corporate take-over route to acquire coveted assets remains legal, at least for now.
What they are saying:
“It’s good for the industry because it affirms a long-standing practice that asset level rights of first refusal do not apply” when parent companies are sold, said Mike Wirth, Chevron CEO.
“Given the significant value we’ve created in the development of the Guyana resource, we believed we had a clear duty to our investors to consider our preemption rights to protect the value,” said ExxonMobil in its statement.
Sponsored
RigER at URTeC
Take a closer look at how RigER simplifies field operations in the oilfield. From digital ticketing to real-time sync, this is what modern energy service management looks like.
FTC Sets Aside Earlier Rulings to Allow Hess and Sheffield to Join Boards
Scott Maxwell-LuMaxArt/Shutterstock
On 17 July, the US Federal Trade Commission issued two separate press releases to reopen and set aside two final orders by the Biden Administration. This ruling clears the way for Mr. John Hess and Mr. Scott Sheffield, to join the Boards of Chevron and ExxonMobil, should the companies want to do so.
What did the FTC say
In the case of John Hess, the FTC said that vote for the new order was 3-0, and stated “Maintaining the restrictions on Mr. Hess’s employment would damage the FTC’s credibility and undermine its mission.”
In the case of Scott Sheffield, the FTC also voted 3-0 to reopen and set aside the final order, “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.”
Background:
Chevron just completed its $53 billion take-over of Hess, that it announced in October 2023.
In March 2024, ExxonMobil completed its $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources.
In January 2025, the outgoing Biden Administration issued a final consent order prohibiting Chevron from nominating, designating, or appointing Hess CEO John Hess to its board.
The Biden Administration issued a similar order to prevent Scott Sheffield from joining ExxonMobil's board.
In both cases, the FTC said in its early orders before Trump returned to the White House that these two gentlemen communicated with OPEC officials about the oil market.
In March 2025, Chevron and Hess petitioned the FTC to reopen and modify the final consent order.
In March 2025, Mr. Sheffield himself, not ExxonMobil, petitioned the FTC to reopen and vacate the order.
On 15 July, the FTC issued a press release, initially denying Sheffield’s petition, because he lacks standing, as “Sheffield is not a party to the final order and therefore cannot make use of the petition process.”
FTC press releases further indicated that now FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak dissented both formal FTC orders during the Biden administration, but they were outvoted by the then majority.
What to follow:
Mr. John Hess will join Chevron Board of Directors
As for Mr. Sheffield, according to local press, Mr. Sheffield said “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,” said Mr. Sheffield.
“For now, I remain one of Exxon’s largest individual shareholders and as such will consider other options,” added Mr. Sheffield.
It remains unclear what types of communication between oil company leaders would be considered market manipulation with leaders of OPEC or Saudi Aramco or ADNOC.
Sponsored
Webinar: Quantify Uncertainty Throughout Formation Evaluation Workflows
Explore methods for incorporating uncertainty into your porosity, saturation, and permeability calculations to move beyond single-value estimates and truly understand the range of possibilities.
👍 If you enjoyed this edition of Well Read, consider supporting AAPG's brand of newsletters by forwarding to a friend or colleague and signing up for our other newsletters here.
➡️ Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up for Well Read here.
AAPG thanks our advertisers for their support. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. If you're interested in supporting AAPG digital products, reach out to Melissa Roberts.
.png?upscale=true&width=220&upscale=true&name=Shangyou-Nie-Headshot-Signature%20(1).png)
