Permian pure-play operator Pioneer Natural Resources of the US boosted oil production in the second quarter to 207,000 barrels per day of oil from 85,000 bpd in the second quarter of 2018. "Well productivity continues to increase annually, with average cumulative production greater in 2018 as compared to the 2017 programme," Pioneer said. "Many factors, such as incorporating data from machine learning into optimised completion designs and a focused approach to appraisal testing, have contributed to the company’s improving well productivity," it added. Pioneer plans to keep its Permian drilling programme