UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 21, 2000
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 1-13245 75-2702753
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(State or other jurisdiction of Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File Number Identification Number)
1400 WILLIAMS SQUARE WEST, 5205 N. O'CONNOR BLVD., IRVING, TEXAS 75039
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Registrant's Telephone Number, including area code: (972) 444-9001
Not applicable
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year,
if changed since last report)
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PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure................................ 3
Signatures....................................................... 5
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PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
ITEM 9. Regulation FD Disclosure
The information in this document includes forward-looking statements that
are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, and the business
prospects of Pioneer Natural Resources Company ("Pioneer" or the "Company"), are
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's
actual results in future periods to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things,
volatility of oil and gas prices, product supply and demand, competition,
government regulation or action, litigation, the costs and results of drilling
and operations, the Company's ability to replace reserves or implement its
business plans, access to and cost of capital, uncertainties about estimates of
reserves, quality of technical data, and environmental risks. These and other
risks are described in the Company's 1999 Annual Report on Form 10-K and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that are available from the Company or the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Definitions of Oil and Gas Terms Used Herein
Within this Current Report on Form 8-K, the following oil and gas terms
have specific meanings: "Bbl" means a standard barrel of 42 United States
gallons; "BPD" means barrels per day; "BOE" means a barrel-of-oil equivalent and
is a standard convention used to express oil, natural gas liquids and gas
volumes on a comparable oil equivalent basis (with equivalent gas volumes
determined using the ratio of six thousand cubic feet of natural gas to one
BOE); "MBOEPD" means thousand BOE per day; "Btu" means British thermal unit and
is an energy equivalent measure of natural gas; "Mcf" means one thousand cubic
feet and is a measure of natural gas volume; and, "NGL" means natural gas
liquid.
Fourth Quarter 2000 Outlook
Oil and gas revenues. As a result of strong fourth quarter oil and gas
supply and demand fundamentals, Pioneer's management expects that the Company's
fourth quarter 2000 oil, NGL and gas revenues will exceed its third quarter
levels by more than ten percent. The Company's fourth quarter realized price for
oil, including the effects of oil price hedges, is expected to average
approximately $26.00 per Bbl; the realized price for natural gas liquids is
expected to be between $23.00 and $23.25 per Bbl. Pioneer's fourth quarter
realized price for natural gas, including the effects of gas price hedges, is
expected to average approximately $3.60 per Mcf.
Pioneer's fourth quarter production is now expected to average 115 to 116
MBOEPD. In order to take advantage of high natural gas prices, Pioneer has
elected during a portion of the fourth quarter not to recover ethane from
natural gas produced in the United States mid-continent area. The ethane
remaining in the natural gas stream raises the Btu content of the natural gas
and the price realization per Mcf. As a consequence, United States liquids
production will be reduced by approximately 1,000 BPD for the days during the
fourth quarter which ethane is not recovered. Additionally, production from the
Company's Tierra Del Fuego area in Argentina will be lower than originally
estimated as a result of lower than expected gas demand. Runoff from unusually
heavy winter snowfall has substantially increased availability of hydroelectric
power, thereby displacing demand for gas power generation. Consequently, the
Company's fourth quarter gas production in Argentina is expected to be
approximately 20 percent less than third quarter levels.
Costs and expenses. Several components of Pioneer's fourth quarter oil
and gas production costs (including production and ad valorem taxes) are
expected to exceed the third quarter reported levels, primarily as a result of
higher oil and gas prices. During the fourth quarter, oil and gas production
costs are expected to average $4.95 to $5.05 per BOE, as compared to $4.39 per
BOE during the third quarter, reflecting increases in per BOE production taxes
and field fuel costs. The Company's fourth quarter depreciation, depletion and
amortization is expected to average $4.90 to $5.10 per BOE, as compared to third
quarter depreciation, depletion and amortization expense of $4.99 per BOE. Total
exploration and abandonment expense is expected to be $25 million to $32
million, as compared to $23 million during the third quarter. The first of two
exploratory wells drilled in South Africa during the fourth quarter was
unsuccessful. Results on the second exploratory well are expected by year-end.
General and administrative expense is expected to be approximately $7 million to
$9 million during the fourth quarter, as compared to $7 million during the third
quarter.
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Interest expense is expected to be $39 million to $40 million, including
approximately $3 million of non-cash interest, as compared to $41 million during
the third quarter.
Asset dispositions. The Company expects to report a gain on the
disposition of assets of approximately $6 million during the fourth quarter. The
fourth quarter gain is primarily related to the sale of the Company's United
States Spider Logansport oil and gas properties.
2001 Capital Budget
Pioneer's 2001 capital budget will be approximately $430 million, which
represents an increase of approximately $100 million over estimated 2000 capital
expenditures. Approximately $70 million of the increase in 2001 capital
expenditures will be allocated to the development of Pioneer's successful
exploration programs in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and in South Africa.
Approximately 20 to 25 percent of the 2001 capital budget is expected to be
directed toward exploratory drilling, with the remainder allocated to lower-risk
development. A more detailed discussion of the Company's 2001 capital
expenditures budget will be disclosed during early January 2001.
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PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
S I G N A T U R E S
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES COMPANY
Date: December 21, 2000 By: /s/ RICH DEALY
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Rich Dealy
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
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