The “out there” in this case is the Permian Basin in West Texas where Pioneer Natural resources has over 20,000 drilling locations. With over 10,000 net producing wells currently operating, the company has a significant drilling inventory that it plans to tap over the long term, assuming oil prices remain above $80 per barrel and regulations or tax reform do not slow things down.

At $80/bbl WTI prices Pioneer would add 5 Permian rigs per year, President and CEO Timothy Dove told the audience at the Oil & Gas Strategies Summit organized by Energy Intelligence and the Financial Times in New York City today. At $90 to $100 dollars per barrel Pioneer expects to add 10 Permian rigs per year.

While this aggressive drilling program rapidly increases the number of wells the company drills, it would still take decades to drill all the locations in Pioneer’s acreage. CEOs are always great salesmen for their companies and Dove is no exception.

“I can assure you all of our grandchildren will be drilling wells out there” – Timothy Dove, Pioneer Natural Resources President & CEO