The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reversed its previous orders barring Scott Sheffield, former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, and John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp, from joining the boards of Exxon Mobil and Chevron, respectively. These bans were initially imposed as conditions for approving Exxon Mobil's acquisition of Pioneer and Chevron's $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. The FTC had cited alleged ties to OPEC as a reason for blocking Sheffield's appointment to Exxon’s board following the sale of Pioneer. However, the agency has now set aside these restrictions, allowing both executives to join the boards of the acquiring oil giants. Despite the reversal, Sheffield has stated that he is no longer interested in joining Exxon’s board. The decisions mark a shift in the FTC’s stance on the involvement of takeover target executives in the governance of major oil companies.