Pioneer Natural Resources Co. reported a five-fold jump in first-quarter profit on May 4 and raised its dividend, as the U.S. shale producer benefited from soaring energy prices following the Ukraine crisis.
The Dallas, Texas-based firm boosted its quarterly dividend by 95% to $7.38 per share.
Producers are prioritizing shareholder returns over production ramp-ups, even as Western sanctions on Russia sent crude prices to 14-year-highs during the quarter. U.S. WTI settled at $107.81 on Wednesday, up 64% from a year ago.
The biggest U.S. oil producer, Exxon Mobil Corp., tripled the size of its buyback program last week.
Pioneer's adjusted profit rose to $1.98 billion, or $7.74 per share, in the quarter ended March 31, from $396 million, or $1.77 per share, an year earlier.
Last week, Pioneer said its first-quarter production averaged 355,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 638,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) compared with 281,000 bopd and 474,000 boepd, a year earlier.
Pioneer's results mirrored those of rivals Devon Energy, Diamondback Energy and Coterra Energy, which raised their shareholder payouts on Monday after posting better-than-expected surges in profit.
Recommended Reading
Oceaneering Won $200MM in Manufactured Products Contracts in Q4 2023
2024-02-05 - The revenues from Oceaneering International’s manufactured products contracts range in value from less than $10 million to greater than $100 million.
E&P Highlights: Feb. 5, 2024
2024-02-05 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including an update on Enauta’s Atlanta Phase 1 project.
CNOOC’s Suizhong 36-1/Luda 5-2 Starts Production Offshore China
2024-02-05 - CNOOC plans 118 development wells in the shallow water project in the Bohai Sea — the largest secondary development and adjustment project offshore China.
TotalEnergies Starts Production at Akpo West Offshore Nigeria
2024-02-07 - Subsea tieback expected to add 14,000 bbl/d of condensate by mid-year, and up to 4 MMcm/d of gas by 2028.
US Drillers Add Oil, Gas Rigs for Third Time in Four Weeks
2024-02-09 - Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 138 rigs, or 18%, below this time last year.