Shale deals aim to boost returns, not output

摘要

A recent spate of mergers among US independent shale producers is a test of companies’ commitments to focus on growing shareholder returns over produc- tion. So far, they appear to be passing. Take Pioneer Natural Resources’ $6.4bn takeover of privately held Double- Point Energy in April, which came only months after Pioneer completed its $4.5bn deal for Parsley Energy. Although the latest acquisition vaults the frm into top place among pure-play Permian producers, chief executive Scott Shefeld has taken pains to point out that he does not plan to unleash produc- tion growth any time soon. In fact, Pioneer intends to scale back DoublePoint’s aggressive output plans and return most of the $5bn of additional free cash fow generated by the deal to shareholders until 2026.