Reported by Staff

WASHINGTON — A congressional hearing on the proposed merger between ExxonMobil and XTO Energy is planned by the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment as it examines the impact of the potential deal on the U.S. energy market. Exxon (XOM.N) Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson and Bob Simpson, chairman of XTO (XTO.N), have been called to testify.

Committee member, Rrepresentative Edward Markey, is said to be considering a range of issues regarding the merger, including hydraulic fracturing, the practice of injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals into rock formations to stimulate natural gas gathering.

For its part, Exxon noted in its merger agreement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that if hydraulic fracturing becomes commercially impractical or “illegal”, it could pull out of the $30 billion purchase of XTO Energy.

Exxon’s planned acquisition is an all-stock deal as the energy giant seeks to build a larger share of the natural gas market. If it goes through, Exxon will own 8 million acres of shale gas and other types of unconventional resources, giving it the largest share in the industry.

Energy companies got an unexpected boost late last week when Energy Secrretary Chu said that fracking could be done in a way to remove oil or gas that would not harm the environment and suggested Congress should not outlaw the practice. He asked reporters, “If it can be extracted in an environmentally safe way, then why would you want to ban it? I think it can be done responsibly.”

Chu added, however, that using the fracking process in shale rock near a water table or unstable fault line should take place.