John Hess ‘Very Confident’ of Winning Exxon Case, Chevron Merger

Hess Corp. expressed confidence in prevailing in arbitration brought by Exxon Mobil Corp. over a massive oil project that’s key to the $53 billion Chevron Corp. takeover.

Exxon’s claim of right-of-first-refusal to Hess’ 30% stake in Guyana’s Stabroek block is “baseless” and “without merit,” Chief Executive Officer John Hess said at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference Tuesday.

“We think it’s very clear that the words on paper in English law that there’s no right or refusal to be exercised,” Hess said. “We’re very confident that the merger is going to go through.”

John Hess

Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

The arbitration panel, which is taking ...