U.S. oil production could reach 14M barrels/day, Pioneer CEO says

• Technological improvements will allow energy companies to scrape more crude out of the ground and drive U.S. oil production as high as 14M bbl/day, Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) CEO Scott Sheffield says.
• The industry may not discover any more elephant fields, but operators will continue to find new opportunities in conventional plays, the CEO says, noting the industry is pursuing new techniques for boosting the recovery rate at wells up from the 2%-3% common today.
• Only lower oil prices can stop the upward march in U.S. production, Sheffield adds, warning that a price collapse for domestic West Texas Intermediate crude would cause “a tremendous turndown.”
• ETFs: XLE, ERX, VDE, OIH, ERY, XOP, DIG, DUG, IYE, IEO, PXE, PXJ, FENY, RYE, FXN, DDG