US regulators will allow Chevron Corp. to move forward with its $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp. but are barring Chief Executive Officer John Hess from joining the supermajor’s board, saying he improperly communicated with OPEC.

The FTC on Monday alleged that John Hess encouraged senior officials at OPEC to draw down inventories, which would result in higher oil prices. Hess Corp. and Chevron have agreed that they will not appoint Hess to the board in order to facilitate the completion of the merger.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Hess (HES) said Monday the Federal Trade Commission completed an antitrust review of their proposed merger, and the companies confirmed that Hess CEO John Hess will not be appointed to the Chevron board;