The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into Exxon Mobil Corp. after an employee filed a whistleblower complaint last fall, claiming the energy giant overestimated one of its most important oil and gas properties, according to people familiar with the matter.
Several people involved in valuing a key asset in the Permian Basin, currently the largest oil producer in the US, complained during an internal assessment in 2019 that employees were forced to use unrealistic assumptions about how quickly the company could drill the wells there to reach a higher value, according to a copy of the complaint, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
At least one of the employees who complained was fired last year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The newspaper previously reported that there were internal disagreements over the assessment.
The SEC began investigating the complaints after receiving the complaint, people familiar with the matter said. The current state of the investigation is unknown. An SEC spokesman declined to comment.
Exxon spokesman Casey Norton declined to comment on the investigation. He said that if asked by the authorities about the 2019 assessment, Exxon will provide information showing that Exxon’s actual performance has exceeded drilling estimates. Mr. Norton also said that Exxon does not comment on employee performance.