Jan. 22--Dallas oil and gas producer Pioneer Natural Resources Co. said Wednesday it liquidated some oil and gas trading positions for this year and next, and will use the $143 million in proceeds to pay off debt and buy back shares.

Other natural gas companies active in North Texas, including Chesapeake Energy, have also recently announced they sold off trading positions used to hedge against market price swings.

Pioneer said it implemented new oil, natural gas liquids and gas commodity price derivatives for 2009, hedging 80 percent of its oil production and 25 percent of its North American gas production for this year.

Pioneer also said it will begin accounting for the derivatives using mark-to-market accounting, meaning the company must calculate the market value of its position each quarter and include the amount in its profit and loss statement.

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