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US oil executive censure puts spotlight on shale-OPEC conferences

A U.S. regulator's censure of a top U.S. oil executive over private conferences with the Company of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) group of oil producers has put a spotlight on suppers attended by lots of shale executives.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday barred former Leader Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield from signing up with the board of Exxon Mobil, which is obtaining Pioneer for $60 billion in stock.

The FTC implicated the 72-year-old executive of leading a. coordinated effort with other U.S. oil firms and with OPEC to. keep production artificially low and increase oil companies'. revenues.

In its problem, the FTC indicated conferences that shale and. OPEC authorities held over a number of years, including a series of. personal suppers at a Houston energy conference.

Executives who attended formerly had explained to . the meetings as going over oil need, spare production capability. and investor requirements.

Leader stated Sheffield had acted in the very best interests of. the oil industry, its financiers, and stated his actions assisted. lift U.S. oil production and exports.

The FTC's grievance shows a basic misconception. of the U.S. and international oil markets and misreads the nature and. intent of Mr. Sheffield's actions, the business stated, protecting. its former chief as a leading and globally appreciated. market authority.

The first shale-OPEC supper, in March 2017, was arranged by. then-OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo after OPEC had. stopped working in a cost war to halt U.S. shale's fast market share. gains and wished to comprehend how the industry ran, the. FTC said.

Subsequent dinners at the CERAWeek energy conference in. Houston brought OPEC together with shale executives consisting of. Hess CEO John Hess, Occidental Petroleum CEO. Vicki Hollub, Devon Energy CEO Rick Muncrief, and. Chesapeake Energy chief Domenic Dell' Osso, to name a few.

Spokespeople for the business did not react to requests. for remark.

I'm seeing a series of conferences where OPEC is reaching out. and spending more time with United States independents than I have seen. over my whole career, Sheffield said in 2017, according to the. FTC complaint.

OPEC members had actually been astonished by how rapidly U.S. business had recuperated from losses during an OPEC-initiated. cost war between 2014 through 2016 that had actually resulted in lots of. U.S. energy insolvencies.

But the shale market quickly bounced back with heavy. financial investments and led the U.S. to become the world's biggest oil. producer in a couple of years. It produced a record 12.9 million. barrels each day in 2015.

In 2017, OPEC cut its production, minimizing a market excess. that lowered international prices, and handed a victory to U.S. producers. The excess returned in 2020 after demand plunged on. COVID-19 shutdowns.

Sheffield was singing about his desire to move away from the. boom-bust cycles that afflicted the U.S. oil company, and became. an outspoken supporter for focusing on investor returns over. production gains.

He discussed his contacts with Saudi Aramco authorities and. other members of the shale suppers went to OPEC meetings in. Vienna. In a March 2023 interview, Sheffield stated. Pioneer had twice hosted Saudi officials and discussed the. business's operations and company practices to them.

They can get the same information from a lot of service. companies, he stated. However they like to talk with producers ... we. have so much data..