Chevron and Hess say US FTC merger review expected for third quarter

By Sabrina Valle

(Reuters) -Oil producers Chevron Corp and Hess Corp expect the U.S. Federal Trade Commission will review their proposed merger in the third quarter, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Bloomberg News reported earlier on Thursday the FTC planned to delay its decision on whether to block Chevron's $53-billion takeover of Hess until after an arbitration case with Exxon Mobil is settled, or at least until the fourth quarter, citing unnamed sources.

Chevron and Hess have previously said an FTC review in the third quarter would allow them to resolve the arbitration dispute by year-end.

"The arbitration is moving forward and we expect to have a decision by the end of 2024," Hess said on June 19. Exxon has signaled the arbitration process would extend into 2025.

The deal, which was initially planned to close in the first half of the year, had already stalled after Exxon in March filed for arbitration, claiming a right of first refusal over Hess' valuable assets in Guyana.

A three-member panel has not yet begun work on a review of Exxon's claim of preemption rights to acquire Hess's Guyana assets. It is expected to set a schedule for proceedings in the coming weeks.

Hess owns 30% of Guyana's giant Stabroek block operated by Exxon, which owns 45%. China's CNOOC Ltd [0883.HK] holds the remaining 25%. The companies expect to double production to 1.3 million barrels of oil and gas per day by 2027.

(Reporting by Sabrina Valle in Houston; additional reporting by Jody Godoy. Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, David Gregorio, Richard Chang and Rod Nickel)