PXD - Pioneer Natural CEO sees just 3-4 'investable' oil and gas independents

"There's only going to be three or four independents that are investable by shareholders" among energy producers after the recent market rout, Pioneer Natural Resources ([[PXD]] -4.4%) CEO Scott Sheffield tells analysts after his company agreed to buy Parsley Energy ([[PE]] -6.6%) for $4.5B in stock. "The best companies have been picked off in the past few weeks."Sheffield believes the "real survivors" will be Pioneer-Parsley, EOG Resources ([[EOG]] -2.1%), ConocoPhillips ([[COP]] -4.9%) and "maybe" Hess ([[HES]] -0.3%) over the long-term.Pioneer's purchase of Parsley will save ~$325M/year in debt repayments and cost reductions while also adding to free cash flow, but size also is key to the deal's success, Sheffield says. "When you're talking to most investors today, they are only looking at companies that are investable at a $10B market cap," and companies below that level will need to merge over time.Sheffield tells Bloomberg that his son, Parsley Chairman Bryan Sheffield,

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Pioneer Natural CEO sees just 3-4 'investable' oil and gas independents