March 7 Reuters U.S. oil producer Hess said on Thursday it was reviewing the timeline for closing its merger with Chevron, after oil major Exxon Mobil signaled a potential counter offer for Hess39;s Guyana assets.

Exxon on Wednesday filed a contract arbitration claim related to Hess39; proposed sale of its Guyana oil properties and suggested it may counter Chevron39;s pending deal for the assets.

The arbitration case seeks to preserve Exxon39;s right to evaluate making a bid for Hess39; 30 stake in the giant Stabroek offshore oil block if Chevron proceeds with its proposed 53 billion purchase of Hess.

Hess said on Thursday it disagreed with Exxon39;s interpretation of the agreement and were confident that its position will prevail in arbitration.

Chevron39;s acquisition of Hess has been stalled by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission39;s request for additional information on the merger. That request pushed back any closing to at least the middle of this year.

Reporting by Shilpi Majumdar

Source Reuters