Scott Sheffield, Pioneer Natural Resources, CEO, chairman, retires, Tim Dove

Scott D. Sheffield will retire as CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD), the company said May 19. President and COO Timothy L. Dove will succeed Sheffield as president and CEO on his retirement, which will be effective Dec. 31.

Sheffield will remain as executive chairman of the board of directors through the end of 2017, at which time he will retire as an executive and employee of the company but remain on the board. The Dallas-based company said that Sheffield is recognized for his leadership in ending the domestic oil export ban in 2015.

Pioneer began as a $32 million company in 1985 and is now worth $28 billion. Pioneer and its predecessor, Parker & Parsley Petroleum Co., built a legacy position in the core of the Spraberry/Wolfcamp Field in the Permian Basin through the 1980s and 1990s. The Spraberry/Wolfcamp is now the second-largest oil field in the world, according to a press release.

Timothy Dove, Pioneer Natural Resources, CEO, Scott Sheffield, retire

Sheffield joined Parker & Parsley as a petroleum engineer in 1979. In 1981, he was promoted to vice president of engineering, and in 1985 he was elected president and a director.

Sheffield became Parker & Parsley’s chairman and CEO in 1989. In 1997, Pioneer was formed from the successful merger of Parker & Parsley and Mesa Petroleum, and Sheffield became CEO. In 1999, he was elected chairman of Pioneer’s board of directors.

Sheffield has received The Permian Basin Petroleum Association’s Top Hand award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership within the oil and gas industry and the Permian Basin community. He has a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas.

Dove joined Parker & Parsley in 1994 as vice president of business development and was promoted to senior vice president in 1996 where he served until the formation of Pioneer in 1997.

With Pioneer, Dove was executive vice president of business development until 2000, when he became executive vice president and CFO. In 2004, he was named the company’s president and COO. Dove was elected to the board of directors in 2013.

Prior to joining Parker & Parsley, Dove worked for Diamond Shamrock Corp. and a successor, Maxus Energy Corp. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Chicago.