Pioneer dividend proposal aims to attract fresh investment

The company’s new strategy to retain and draw shareholders aims to shake up the shale growth model

Appetite for US shale stocks has faded sharply in recent years. Overreliance on external funding, poor payouts, mounting debts and an obsession with production growth have all combined to trigger an investor exodus. Between October 2018 and February 2020, the S&P Exploration and Production Select Index collapsed by 56pc, despite WTI crude prices slipping by only 30pc over the same period. The bruising economic downturn since March has only exacerbated the situation. Strained balance sheets have seen a swathe of Chapter 11 filings across the shale patch. And even the majors have felt the investor backlash. From early January until the height of domestic economic lockdowns, the share price