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Earlier this month, Exxon proposed to buy Pioneer Natural
Resources for $60 billion and Chevron agreed to acquire Hess for
$53 billion.
The Democratic Senate leader said in a letter that the two of
the largest oil and gas deals of this century are "likely to
harm competition."
The recent oil deals are a financial flex by U.S. oil and gas
companies that have kept investing in fossil fuels as European
rivals turned their attention to renewable fuels.
Chevron and Exxon have accumulated huge profits from strong
energy prices and demand since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"By allowing Exxon and Chevron to further integrate their
extensive operations into important oil-and-gas fields, these
deals are likely to harm competition, risking increased consumer
prices and reduced output throughout the United States," Schumer
said in his letter.
The oil industry last went through an era of major consolidation
in the late 1990s when Exxon, Shell, BP and France's
TotalEnergies merged with rivals to create huge integrated
companies. The acquisitions followed a collapse in oil prices
that weakened many companies.
"If anything, the FTC should be investigating the past
anti-competitive mergers of Big Oil conglomerates like Exxon
Mobil and Chevron to determine whether these energy giants
should be broken up once again," Schumer added.
Several other Democrats also signed the letter.
(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru)
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