Exxon Mobil’s Spring, Texas campus, where most of the oil company’s new trading will take place, in Spring, Texas, U.S., April 21, 2017. Portal/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo Acquire License Rights
HOUSTON, Oct 8 (Portal) – The head of Exxon Mobil’s (XOM.N) shale oil and gas business, a unit involved in merger talks with rival Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N), was announced last week in a Hotel in Texas arrested on a sexual assault allegation, police said.
David Scott, an Exxon senior vice president who oversees the entire shale oil and gas production business, was arrested early Thursday morning at a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Magnolia, Texas, the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office said.
Scott did not immediately respond to a message sent to his LinkedIn profile.
“We are aware of the allegations and cannot comment on a personal matter. However, we can say that this individual will not be continuing with his or her professional obligations as the investigation continues,” said spokeswoman Emily Mir.
“All EM employees, officers and directors are responsible for maintaining the highest standards of integrity and codes of conduct in support of the Company’s operations and beyond,” it added.
Scott, 49, was arrested at the budget hotel near Exxon’s headquarters in Spring, Texas, where rooms cost about $120 a night. One of the two women he was in the room with left the lobby and called police, a worker who saw security video told Portal.
Portal and others reported on Thursday that Exxon was in advanced talks to acquire Pioneer. The deal could value the shale oil producer at about $60 billion. A deal could be announced in the coming days, Portal said, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Scott’s LinkedIn profile shows that he has worked at Exxon for more than 26 years and has been involved in some of the world’s most important oil and gas projects. The Australian native started as an engineer at Exxon in Melbourne and then moved to Malaysia and Abu Dhabi, where he was president of the subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2020, he took over leadership of Exxon’s Permian Basin operations and was promoted earlier this year to senior vice president, responsible for the entire shale oil and gas business.
As a senior vice president, he is not necessarily involved in merger discussions, a person familiar with the matter said.
Scott is charged with second-degree assault and was released on $30,000 bail, according to jail records. Convictions for such crimes in Texas are punishable by a minimum of two and up to 20 years in prison.
Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
Our standards: The Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab