(Reuters) – Chevron shareholders on Wednesday voted to re-elect all 12 sitting directors to its board, in a sign of support for the oil major.
CEO Michael Wirth said the company was moving ahead on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s review of its proposed buyout of oil producer Hess Corp in the coming weeks, and was confident that Chevron’s position would be affirmed in the arbitration.
The $53 billion deal requires U.S. regulatory approval and faces a challenge by Exxon Mobil and CNOOC, which claim they have pre-emption rights to any sale of Hess’ Guyana assets.
Shares of Chevron were down 1.4% in afternoon trade, following a decline in the broader stock market.
Shareholders rejected all four proposals brought forward by investors, with 98% voting against reporting about the risks from voluntary carbon-reduction commitments and 92% voting against a report on how the business would be affected by consumers sharply cutting their use of single-use and virgin plastics.
A proposal to hire an outside group to evaluate Chevron’s human rights policies fell with 78% opposed, the lowest rejection of any of the resolutions.
About 85% of shareholders voted against hunger group Oxfam America’s petition for the company to issue a tax transparency report that follows the Global Reporting Initiative’s Tax Standard guidelines.
Chevron’s board had recommended a “no vote” to all the proposals.
Wirth also pointed out that the company has completed several acquisitions in recent years, including deals for U.S. oil and gas producer PDC Energy and renewable fuels maker ACES Delta in 2023.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
