Nearly 21 months after announcing the blockbuster deal to acquire the nation’s leading independent oil company, Chevron Corp. said it has finally completed its $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. after clearing approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on July 17.
“This merger of two great American companies brings together the best in the industry,” said Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth. “The combination enhances and extends our growth profile well into the next decade, which we believe will drive greater long-term value to shareholders.”
Chevron initially signed a definitive agreement on Oct. 20, 2023, to acquire all outstanding Hess shares through an all-stock deal valued at $53 billion, based on the company’s original closing price of $171 per share. According to the agreement, Hess shareholders will receive 1.0250 Chevron shares for each Hess share they own. The total enterprise value of the transaction, including debt, is $60 billion.
As of 12:22 p.m. ET in the July 18 trading session in New York, Chevron shares were down by 1 percent, to $149.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock saw a pre-market boost of $157.70 after Chevron announced the deal closure before settling slightly lower.
According to Wirth, the final agreement to acquire Hess included a favorable arbitration decision regarding Hess’s offshore Guyana asset. In addition, on July 17, 2025, the FTC lifted its earlier restriction, imposed under the Biden administration, that had prevented former Hess CEO John Hess from joining Chevron’s board of directors.
Under the original FTC antitrust complaint filed in September 2024, the FTC alleged that Hess communicated with the past and current secretaries general of OPEC and an official from Saudi Arabia, both publicly and privately.
“Mr. Hess’s communications with competitors about global oil output and other dimensions of crude oil market competition disqualify him from serving on Chevron’s board of directors,” said Henry Liu, former director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, who left the federal regulatory agency when President Donald Trump took office.
Under the FTC 3–2 ruling on July 17, Hess is allowed to serve on the Chevron board, solely related to interactions and discussions with Guyanese government officials about Hess’s oil-related and health ministry-related activities in the South American country.
“We are proud of everyone at Hess for building one of the industry’s best growth portfolios including Guyana, the world’s largest oil discovery in the last 10 years, and the Bakken shale, where we are a leading oil and gas producer,” Hess said in a statement.
By Wesley Brown
