Shale producer Pioneer expects OPEC to boost oil prices as Brent tumbles

Shale producer Pioneer expects OPEC to boost oil prices as Brent tumbles

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will likely take steps to boost oil prices, which started the year in free-fall, the chief executive of top shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources said on Thursday.

"Saudi is not going to let Brent stay around $75 a barrel," CEO Scott Sheffield told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference in Miami, Florida.

OPEC and allies, or OPEC+, last month agreed to stick to current oil output targets despite concerns that a global economic slowdown could cut into demand. In October the group agreed to cut output by 2 million bpd, or 2% of world demand, from November to the end of 2023.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they had another cut," Sheffield said.

His comments also came as oil prices started 2023 with the biggest two-day loss in three decades. Brent futures were trading close to $79 a barrel on Thursday morning.

Sheffield said future oil prices, often referred to as "the strip," will likely stay in backwardation going forward, with current prices higher than future contracts.

"There is no liquidity in the market," he said referring to later-dated oil contracts. "Banks aren't hedging, there's nobody using that product and hedging anymore. No airlines are hedging, so there