FTC set to greenlight chevron's $53 billion buy of oil rival Hess, sources say

By Sabrina Valle

(Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is expected to greenlight U.S. oil producer Chevron (NYSE:CVX )'s purchase of Hess (NYSE:HES ) as soon as this week, two people familiar with the matter said, leaving Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM )'s challenge to the $53 billion deal as its final hurdle. 



The proposed merger was first announced last October, and the FTC sent a second information request to Chevron two months later. Uncertainty over the deal's closing has knocked Chevron shares down 1% this year compared to a 6.5% increase in energy share fund XLE (NYSE:XLE ) .

Exxon and CNOOC (NYSE:CEO ) Ltd, Hess's partners in a Guyana joint venture, are challenging the deal by claiming a right of first refusal to any sale of Hess's Guyana assets, the prize in the proposed merger.

Source: Investing.com