Bryan Sheffield is a Midland native who started the company with a base of 100 wells first drilled by his grandfather, Joe Parsley, and partner Howard Parker, of Parker & Parsley fame (Parker & Parsley later became Pioneer Natural
Resources
, a large competitor of Parsley Energy that is helmed by Sheffield’s father). Parsley has become a top Spraberry operator with nine rigs in operation. He grew the company from its start in 2008 with two employees
and 500 gross barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day to 53 full-time employees and 13,700 gross BOE per day.
The company has drilled approximately 205 wells since 2009 with 75,000 gross acres under development

Accomplishments: Going deeper in the Wolfberry. “We’re one of the first operators to have started to commingle the Spraberry and Wolfcamp with the Atoka formation, which is highly pressured and increasing our estimated ultimate recoveries tremendously.” Took a crash course on the Spraberry at Pioneer after working as a commodities trader
in Chicago. Holds a finance degree from Southern Methodist University.

On the growth of Midland: “I hear a lot of people complain about the growth, but for me it’s exciting; it’s exciting for people in their thirties to see the town grow. And I think it’s different from the high times in the 1980s that were commodity driven. To me this is more technology driven.”

Goals: “To remain competitive versus our peers, to continue to grow at our rate and to continue to enjoy the camaraderie with Parsley’s management and employees.”