The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent a second request to Chevron and Hess, for additional information and documentary materials related to their $53 billion deal, the companies said on Friday. U.S. lawmakers have sought increased scrutiny by the FTC over multi-billion dollar deals. Last month, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and 22 other Democratic senators had written to the agency saying such acquisitions could lead to higher prices for consumers.
The companies said they would respond to the request and cooperate with the FTC. The deal was announced in October.
Earlier this week, Exxon Mobil and Pioneer Natural Resources received similar requests from the FTC related to their $60 billion merger.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)