Sheffield, 71 years old, started buying leases in the Permian in the ‘90s as chief executive of Parker & Parsley Petroleum, his father-in-law’s oil company. Pioneer had recently been considering a long-term strategy to diversify outside of the Permian, Sheffield said in an interview, including by potentially expanding into other basins or going international. More than $140 million worth of Pioneer stock Sheffield owns will also roll into Exxon shares, a stock considered as good as cash, investment bankers said. Pioneer had recently been making moves that made it an attractive target for a prospective buyer. Recently, Pioneer gave itself more flexibility to buy back its own stock.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 20, 2023 11:27 UTC