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Pioneer Natural Resources

Pioneer Natural Resources Company, headquartered in Irving, Texas, was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. It operated in the Cline Shale, which is part of the Spraberry Trend of the Permian Basin, where the company was the largest acreage holder.[1] In May 2024, the company was acquired by ExxonMobil.

As of December 31, 2022, the company had 2.376 e9BOE of proved reserves, of which 41% was petroleum, 23% was natural gas liquids, and 28% was natural gas. In 2022, the company produced 649 e3BOE per day, of which 58% was petroleum, 23% was natural gas liquids, and 19% was natural gas.[1]

History

Pioneer Natural Resources was created in 1997 by the merger of Parker & Parsley Petroleum Company and MESA Inc., owned by Thomas Boone Pickens.[2]

In May 2016, CEO and chairman Scott D. Sheffield was succeeded by Timothy Dove.[3] Sheffield returned to the roles in 2019 after Dove's retirement.[4] In January 2024, Richard P. Dealy was named as CEO.[5]

Divestitures and acquisitions

Acquisition by ExxonMobil

In May 2024, in the largest merger in the petroleum industry in 20 years, Pioneer was acquired by ExxonMobil, making ExxonMobil the largest producer of shale gas in the Permian Basin.[19][20][21]

Approval for the transaction from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was accompanied by a consent decree alleging that former Pioneer CEO Scott D. Sheffield colluded with OPEC to raise oil prices and making the merger conditional on Sheffield's being barred from joining ExxonMobil's board of directors or serving as an advisor to Exxon after the merger.[22][23]

Antitrust lawsuit

In January 2024, a class action lawsuit was filed by drivers in three US states accusing Pioneer, along with seven other oil and gas producers, of an illegal price fixing scheme to constrain production of shale oil that led to American drivers paying more for gasoline than they would have in a competitive market.[24][25] In May 2024, plaintiffs asked for the communications records of former CEO Scott Sheffield.[26] Philanthropy Pioneer Natural Resources operated an extensive philanthropic program focused on education, disaster relief, and community development through various charitable initiatives and partnerships. In 2022, the company contributed nearly $8 million in social investments and employee-led giving to hundreds of charities in the Permian Basin and Dallas-Fort Worth area.[27]

References

  1. Pioneer Natural Resources Company 2022 Form 10-K Annual Report U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission^
  2. Carol Marie Cropper. Mesa Is to Merge With Parker & Parsley New York Times, April 8, 1997^
  3. Pioneer Natural Resources says CEO Scott Sheffield to retire Reuters, May 19, 2016^
  4. Pioneer Natural Resources CEO to retire American City Business Journals, February 22, 2019^
  5. Pioneer Natural Resources Announces that Richard P. Dealy Commences Role as Chief Executive Officer Business Wire, January 2, 2024^
  6. Pioneer and Evergreen in $2.1 Billion Energy Merger TheStreet.com, May 4, 2004^
  7. Pioneer and Evergreen Announce $2.1 Billion Merger U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, May 4, 2004^
  8. Pioneer Natural Resources Acquires Carmeuse Industrial Sands Hart Energy, March 5, 2012^
  9. Pioneer Natural Resources Announces Closing of $1.7 Billion Horizontal Wolfcamp Shale Transaction with Sinochem Business Wire, May 31, 2013^
  10. Pioneer to sell Alaska subsidiary for $550 million Oil & Gas Journal, October 25, 2013^
  11. Pioneer sells Alaska holdings for $550M Alaska Journal of Commerce, October 25, 2013^
  12. LINN Energy Announces $340 Million Acquisition From Pioneer Natural Resources GlobeNewswire, August 4, 2014^
  13. Pioneer Natural Resources Signs $1.15 Bln Eagle Ford Shale JV Deal With India's Reliance Industries - Update RTT News, June 24, 2010^
  14. Pioneer Natural Resources Announces Sale of Eagle Ford Shale Midstream Business for $2.15 Billion Business Wire, June 1, 2015^
  15. Pioneer Completes Acquisition of Midland Basin Acreage Yahoo Finance, September 1, 2016^
  16. Pioneer Natural announces sale of asset for $266 mln Reuters, March 15, 2017^
  17. Pioneer Natural Resources Completes Acquisition of Parsley Energy Following Stockholder Approvals Business Wire, January 12, 2021^
  18. Pioneer Natural Resources Announces Bolt-On Acquisition of DoublePoint Energy in the Midland Basin Business Wire, April 1, 2021^
  19. ExxonMobil Completes Acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources Business Wire, May 3, 2024^
  20. Arunima Kumar. Exxon Mobil completes $60 billion deal for Pioneer Natural Reuters, May 3, 2024^
  21. Clifford Krauss. Exxon Mobil Strikes $60 Billion Deal for Shale Giant The New York Times, 2023-10-11, retrieved 2026-04-01^
  22. FTC bars former Pioneer CEO in Exxon Mobil deal, saying he colluded with OPEC NPR, May 2, 2024^
  23. Antonio Pequeño IV. FTC Will Approve Exxon’s $60 Billion Merger With Pioneer—With One Caveat Forbes, May 2, 2024^
  24. Mike Scarcella. Drivers sue US shale oil producers over alleged price-fixing scheme Reuters, 2024-01-16^
  25. Charles Kennedy. Lawsuit Accuses U.S. Shale of Cartel Behavior OilPrice.com, 2024-01-16^
  26. Mike Scarcella. Consumers demand ex-Pioneer CEO records in shale-oil antitrust lawsuit Reuters, May 9, 2024^
  27. 2023 sustainability report Pioneer Natural Resources, July 23, 2023, retrieved September 6, 2025^