Pioneer Cuts Long Term Permian Basin Oil Production Forecast

Pioneer Natural Resources Co., one of the biggest producers in the Permian Basin, has lowered its long-term projection for output from the entire region.

Chief Executive Officer Scott Sheffield said Thursday his company now sees Permian production of about 7 million barrels a day by 2030, down from a previous view of 8 million barrels.

His comments come amid growing concern within the industry about the fading productivity of oil wells in the Permian and whether overall production could plateau. 

The Permian, which straddles West Texas and New Mexico, is the largest US oil patch and has been a source of massive output growth in recent years, helping the US to become the world’s largest oil producer. The basin yielded 5.5 million barrels of crude a day on average last month, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Pioneer, Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips will be the only companies producing more than 1 million barrels a day in the Permian after 2030, Sheffield said at the Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Clean Technology Conference in Miami.

John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp., also spoke at the conference about the future of US production. He said US shale production will likely plateau by 2026 at around 13 million barrels a day.