Devon Energy Corporation is an energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States. It is organized in Delaware and its corporate operative headquarters are in the 50-story Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its primary operations are in the Barnett Shale STACK formation in Oklahoma, Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford Group, and the Rocky Mountains.[1]

Devon Energy Corporation
Company typePublic company
NYSEDVN
S&P 500 component
IndustryPetroleum industry
Founded1971 (1971)
FounderJohn Nichols
J. Larry Nichols
HeadquartersDevon Energy Center, ,
Key people
Rick Muncrief, CEO & President
Jeffrey L. Ritenour, CFO
ProductsPetroleum
Natural gas
Natural gas liquids
Production output
572 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (3,500,000 GJ) per day (2021)
RevenueIncrease $12.206 billion (2021)
Increase $2.808 billion (2021)
Total assetsIncrease $21.025 billion (2021)
Total equityIncrease $9.399 billion (2021)
Number of employees
1,600 (2021)
Websitewww.devonenergy.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

In 2023 the company ranked 216th on the Fortune 500[2] and 445th on the Forbes Global 2000.[3]

As of December 31, 2021, the company had proved reserves of 1,625 million barrels of oil equivalent (9.94×109 GJ), of which 44% was petroleum, 27% was natural gas liquids, and 29% was natural gas.[1]

History edit

Devon was founded in 1971 by John Nichols and his son, J. Larry Nichols.[4] In 1988, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.[4] In August 2000, the company was added to the S&P 500.[5] In 2004, Devon was one of several companies in the petroleum industry for which shareholder resolutions were introduced that would have required the companies to monitor their effects on climate change.[6] In August 2008, co-founder John Nichols died.[4]

In March 2010, the company sold assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan, and the Gulf of Mexico to BP for $7 billion.[7] In October 2012, the company completed construction of its current headquarters, the 50-story Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and closed its office in the Allen Center in Downtown Houston.[8] In April 2014, the company sold its conventional assets in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources for C$3.125 billion.[9] In June 2014, the company sold assets to Linn Energy for $2.3 billion.[10]

In August 2015, Dave Hager was named president and chief executive officer of the company.[11] In February 2016, Devon announced plans to lay off 1,000 employees, including 700 in Oklahoma City, and cut its dividend as part of a cost-cutting effort due to low prices of its products.[12][13] In 2017, the company sold its Lavaca County assets in the Eagle Ford.[14] In June 2019, the company sold its assets in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources for CAD $3.8 billion.[15][16] In November 2019, the company almost capped a blowout at a natural gas well, which prompted authorities to seal off thousands of acres of land near the Eagle Ford Shale towns of Yorktown and Nordheim. Crews were able to install a capping stack on the well to reduce natural gas flowing from the well.[17]

Acquisitions edit

# Year Company Price Description of Assets Ref(s).
1 1992 Hondo Oil and Gas $122 million Oil and gas reserves and seven natural gas processing plants [18]
2 1996 Kerr-McGee $250 million North American onshore oil and gas properties; 370,000 net acres of undeveloped drilling rights [19]
3 1998 Northstar Energy $750 million Oil and gas properties in Canada [20]
4 1999 PennzEnergy $2.2 billion Oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico [21]
5 2000 Santa Fe Snyder $3.35 billion Oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin, Rocky Mountains, and the Gulf of Mexico [5][22]
6 2001 Anderson Exploration $4.6 billion Oil and gas properties in Canada [23]
7 2002 Mitchell Energy $3.1 billion Oil and gas properties in the Barnett Shale of Texas [24]
8 2003 Ocean Energy $5.3 billion Deepwater sites in the Gulf of Mexico [25]
9 2006 Chief Oil and Gas $2.2 billion Barnett Shale leaseholds [26]
10 2014 GeoSouthern Energy $6.1 billion Eagle Ford assets [27]
11 2014 Crosstex Energy Merger of midstream assets to form EnLink Midstream, LLC [28]
12 2015 Felix Energy $2.5 billion Oil and gas properties in the Powder River Basin and Anadarko Basin [29]
13 2021 WPX Energy $2.56 billion Oil and gas properties in the Williston Basin and the Permian Basin [30]
14 2022 Validus Energy $1.8 billion Eagle Ford assets [31]

Political activity edit

Devon contributed over $1 million in each of the last 3 U.S. election cycles, almost entirely to organizations and individuals affiliated with the Republican Party.[32] In 2016, the company contributed $750,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, whose goal is to protect the Republican majority in the United States Senate. It also gave $500,000 to the Congressional Leadership Fund, whose goal is to protect the Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives.[33]

Devon and its lobbyists have been noted to have close ties to government officials. In 2014, an investigation by The New York Times uncovered that a three-page letter signed by Scott Pruitt, then the Attorney General of Oklahoma, to the United States Environmental Protection Agency advocating for a relaxing of laws related to hydraulic fracturing was actually written by lobbyists for Devon Energy and not by Pruitt.[34]

In 2015, a shareholder resolution was introduced that would have required the company to disclose its lobbying activity against regulations to prevent climate change. The resolution received votes of support by approximately 20% of shareholders.[35]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Devon Energy Corporation 2021 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. ^ "Fortune 500: Devon Energy". Fortune.
  3. ^ "Forbes Global 2000". Forbes.
  4. ^ a b c Miller, Stephen (August 9, 2008). "Former Accountant Worked to Build Devon Energy Into Industry Giant". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ a b "Devon Energy and Santa Fe Snyder Complete Merger" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 29, 2000.
  6. ^ Feder, Barnaby J. (February 27, 2004). "Funds Want Oil Companies To Report On Climate". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "BP pays Devon Energy $7bn for Brazilian, Azeri, and Gulf of Mexico assets". The Daily Telegraph. Reuters. March 11, 2010.
  8. ^ Pulsinelli, Olivia (October 11, 2012). "Devon Energy cutting 1,000 jobs, slashing dividend". American City Business Journals.
  9. ^ "Devon Energy Completes Sale of Canadian Conventional Assets" (Press release). Business Wire. April 2, 2014.
  10. ^ "LINN Energy Announces $2.3 Billion Acquisition of Assets from Devon Energy" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. June 30, 2014.
  11. ^ "Devon Energy Completes Leadership Transition as Board of Directors Elects Dave Hager New President and CEO, Succeeding Retiring John Richels" (Press release). Business Wire. August 3, 2015.
  12. ^ Wilmoth, Adam (February 16, 2016). "Devon Energy to lay off 700 in Oklahoma City". The Oklahoman.
  13. ^ Baker, Max B. (February 17, 2016). "Devon Energy cutting 1,000 jobs, slashing dividend". Fort Worth Star Telegram.
  14. ^ "Devon Energy Announces $340 Million of Non-Core Asset Sales" (Press release). Business Wire. July 31, 2017.
  15. ^ "Devon Energy Completes Sale of Canadian Business" (Press release). Globe Newswire. June 27, 2019.
  16. ^ "Devon Energy Announces Final Step to Complete Transformation to U.S. Oil Growth Company" (Press release). Business Wire. February 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Chapa, Sergio (November 12, 2019). "Devon Energy one step away from capping blowout in DeWitt County". Houston Chronicle.
  18. ^ "Hondo Oil Offer". The New York Times. February 29, 1992.
  19. ^ Vandewater, Bob (January 1, 1997). "Devon Obtains Kerr-McGee Oil, Gas Properties". The Oklahoman.
  20. ^ "Devon Energy and Northstar Energy to Combine: US$2 Billion Oil and Gas Company Would be Created" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. June 29, 1998.
  21. ^ "Devon Energy and PennzEnergy Announce Completion of Merger" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 17, 1999.
  22. ^ "Devon Energy to acquire Santa Fe Snyder in $3.35 billion deal". Oil & Gas Journal. May 26, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  23. ^ "Devon Energy to Acquire Anderson Exploration and Become North America's Largest Independent Producer of Oil and Natural Gas" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. September 4, 2001.
  24. ^ "Devon to buy Mitchell Energy for $3.1 billion, boosting gas reserves". Oil & Gas Journal. August 14, 2001. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  25. ^ Wilmoth, Adam (April 26, 2003). "Devon completes $5.3 billion merger with Ocean Energy; More than 98 percent approve companies' deal". The Oklahoman.
  26. ^ "Devon acquiring Barnett shale acreage from Chief". Oil & Gas Journal. May 8, 2006.
  27. ^ "Devon Energy Completes Acquisition of Eagle Ford Assets from GeoSouthern Energy" (Press release). Business Wire. February 28, 2014.
  28. ^ "Devon Energy and Crosstex Energy to Create New Midstream Business" (Press release). Business Wire. October 21, 2013.
  29. ^ "Devon Energy Sharpens Focus on Core Assets" (Press release). Business Wire. December 7, 2015.
  30. ^ "Devon Energy and WPX Energy Complete Merger of Equals Transaction" (Press release). Globe Newswire. January 7, 2021.
  31. ^ Casey, Simon (August 9, 2022). "Devon Inks $1.8 Billion Shale Deal to Expand in Eagle Ford". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "Devon Energy: Total Contributions by Party of Recipient". OpenSecrets.
  33. ^ "Devon Energy: Profile for 2016 Election Cycle". OpenSecrets.
  34. ^ Lipton, Eric (December 6, 2014). "Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General". The New York Times.
  35. ^ Bogoslaw, David (January 11, 2016). "Shareholders ask oil producers for climate lobbying disclosure". Corporate Secretary.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Business data for Devon Energy: