Scott Sheffield

Scott Sheffield

Scott Sheffield began his career in the oil and gas industry in 1976 and became the founding CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources in 1997, growing the company to become the largest producer in Texas prior to closing its $70 billion merger transaction with ExxonMobil in May 2024.
He has played a leading part in securing American energy security through his role in the shale revolution and lifting the
U.S. crude oil export ban. He has also led industry efforts to reduce CO2 and methane emissions in the Permian Basin.
Sheffield has earned numerous accolades for his leadership and contributions to the energy industry. He received the Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s prestigious Top Hand Award in recognition of his leadership within the oil and gas industry and the Permian Basin community. Additionally, he was inducted into the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame, received the Anti-Defamation League’s Henry Cohn Humanitarian Award in Dallas the Texas Oil & Gas
Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Hope Award in Midland and the Frank Pitts Award for Energy Leadership from SMU.
Sheffield is a distinguished graduate of the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas. He currently serves as an independent member of the Board of Directors of Williams (NYSE: WMB) headquartered in Tulsa, OK and Tamboran Resources in Sydney, Australia.
Sheffield currently resides in Santa Fe, NM, with his wife Kimberley. Together, he and Kimberley dedicated their time and resources to building a state-of-the-art tennis facility with First Serve New Mexico aimed at providing life skills, tutoring and tennis instruction to the children of Santa Fe. The tennis facility was formally opened in October 2025.

Books by Scott Sheffield

From Tehran to the Permian

By Scott Sheffield

From Tehran to the Permian

Leading the Shale Revolution and My Fight for Energy Independence

From Tehran to the Permian is Scott Sheffield’s memoir on leading the Permian Basin shale revolution that made America the world’s top oil producer as founder and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources — and on the FTC’s 2024 collusion accusations that barred him from ExxonMobil’s board after its $59.5 billion acquisition.