Global oil demand will likely recover to its pre-pandemic levels of 100 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2022 or early 2023, Pioneer Natural Resources Chief Executive Scott Sheffield said on Tuesday.
Demand next year is likely to be around 97 million bpd, Sheffield said, speaking at the Reuters Future of Oil & Gas 2020 virtual conference. He added the oil industry will “still need some help from OPEC” with supply cuts of 3 million to 5 million bpd next year.
Pioneer, one of the largest independent U.S. shale operators, is putting drilling rigs back to work in the Permian Basin oil field, but plans for oil production growth of zero to 5% in 2021 while demand recovers, Sheffield said.
The company will close its $4.5 billion all-stock buyout of Parsley Energy Inc in the first quarter of the year. Sheffield said he expects “several more” such mergers in the oil industry.
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