Exxon Mobil's top shale exec arrested on sexual assault charge in Texas - MarketWatch
Exxon Mobil's top shale exec arrested on sexual assault charge in Texas - MarketWatch
David Scott, the head of Exxon Mobil Co.’s shale oil and gas production business, was arrested in Texas and faces a charge of sexual assault.
According to public records from the Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office, Scott, 49, was arrested Thursday afternoon on second-degree felony sexual-assault charges. According to the records, he was released on $30,000 bond. Police records show he was arrested at a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Magnolia, Texas, near Exxon’s headquarters in Spring, Texas, just north of Houston.
No further details of the incident were made clear.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Scott is vice president of Exxon’s upstream unconventional unit, and has worked for Exxon for 26 years at the company’s operations in Australia, the U.K., the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Angola and the U.S.
In a statement Sunday, Exxon Mobil XOM, -1.67% said it was “aware of the allegations and cannot comment on a personal matter.” However, “we can say that this individual will not continue work responsibilities as the investigation proceeds.”
Scott’s arrest comes as Exxon Mobil is reportedly closing in on a roughly $60 billion deal to buy shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources PXD, +10.45%, as it looks to become the dominant player in the oil-rich Permian Basin in western Texas and New Mexico.
Scott oversees Exxon’s operations in the Permian Basin, but it was unclear if or how he might be involved in the Pioneer deal.
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