WASHINGTON: US senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat on the Senate Banking panel, said on Wednesday she was concerned that Exxon Mobil’s agreement to buy US rival Pioneer Natural Resources would raise costs and should be probed by regulators.
“Oil company profiteering hits American consumers right in the wallet — and I’m concerned that Exxon’s massive acquisition will reduce competition and drive up costs. Regulators should closely scrutinise this big oil merger,” Warren said.
The deal, valued at US$59.5 billion, combines the largest US oil company with one of the most successful names to emerge from the shale revolution that turned the US into the world’s largest oil producer in little more than a decade.