Nov 20 (Reuters) – Shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources Co said on Friday it would reinstate full salaries of its chief executive officer and other executives in 2021, after cutting them earlier this year as the COVID-19 pandemic crushed oil prices.
Pioneer had cut CEO Scott Sheffield’s annual base salary by 20% in May, a month after U.S. oil prices fell below $0 per barrel for the first time ever due to a slump in demand caused by the health crisis and a supply glut.
Oil prices have since recovered and were trading around $42 per barrel on Friday, though recent restrictions have cast a shadow on demand recovery.
Rival Parsley Energy, which Pioneer agreed to buy in October, slashed executive pay by 50% in March.
Pioneer said in May it expects to save $100 million annually through job cuts and a new organizational structure.
(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
