The harsh winter weather encountered in Texas last week took a bite out of Permian Basin giant Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s oil production, but the company should make up the loss and more in 2021, CEO Scott Sheffield said Wednesday.

The winter storm last week knocked out about 30,000 b/d of oil output, but most is back online. The “current production trajectory will drive a strong exit-to-exit growth of approximately 8%, which sets up a very high capital efficiency in 2022 and beyond,” Sheffield said during a conference call to discuss fourth quarter results. 

Management could consider taking a proactive approach to protect the Permian infrastructure from future weather events like the Texas ice storm. However, Sheffield indicated it was a rare event unlikely to happen...