Pioneer CEO Sheffield Doubts OPEC Will Reach Output Deal
Pioneer Natural Resources Co Chief Executive Scott Sheffield has little hope that OPEC members will agree later this month to curb production, a step that would boost low oil prices.
"I give OPEC a 40 percent chance of reaching an agreement," Sheffield said on a conference call with investors on Wednesday. "And even if they do, everyone will cheat. I have seen this over my 42-year career."
Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are scheduled to meet Nov. 30 to negotiate a deal on supply cuts.
If OPEC fails to reach an agreement, oil prices likely will stay in the mid-$40 per barrel range for much of next year, Sheffield said.
"With regard to oil prices, we are obviously not out of the woods yet," he said. Sheffield said he did not expect the oil market to rebalance until 2018.
Pioneer, considered by Wall Street analysts to be one of the best-managed U.S. shale oil producers, posted a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday. The company's stock fell 6.1 percent to $169.87 in Wednesday trading in line with the broader market as oil prices dropped.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Grant McCool)
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; editing by Grant McCool)
