Devon Energy

Independent oil and gas producer Devon Energy puts its energy into oil and gas fields far from England's southwestern coast, in North America. It focuses on exploration and production assets in Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and western Canada. In 2011 Devon Energy reported proved reserves of 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (58% natural gas) and more than 19,900 net acres of assets. It also drilled almost 2,500 gross wells. Devon Energy produces about 2.5 billion cu. ft. of natural gas a day (more than 3% of all the gas consumed in North America). The company is the largest producer and lease holder in the Barnett Shale (Texas) and is looking to replicate its success there to other unconventional plays.

Geographic Reach

Once active in major oil patches worldwide such as Azerbaijan, Brazil, and China, in the mid-2000s the company decided to focus on safer and increasingly productive unconventional onshore exploration opportunities (shales and oil sands) in North America. As a result, Devon Energy has sold all of its international assets.

Financial Analysis

Devon Energy posted a major improvement in revenues in 2010, thanks to higher commodity prices and an increase in production. In 2011, buoyed by record level reserves, high oil prices, and an increased demand for oil and gas products, the company posted a further 15% growth in revenues. Net income only rose by 3%, however, as higher operating, depreciation, deletion, and amortization costs and an increase in deferred income tax expense trimmed income growth.

Boosting its financial resources, in 2012 Devon Energy secured a commitment from Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration & Production for the Chinese company to invest $2.2 billion in exchange for one-third of Devon's interest in five new joint venture plays in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Niobrara, Mississippian, Ohio Utica Shale, and the Michigan Basin.

That year it also closed a similar $1.4 billion joint venture deal with Sumitomo Corp. to develop 650,000 net acres in the Cline Shale and the Midland-Wolfcamp Shale in West Texas.

Strategy

In 2010 it sold most of its remaining international assets to BP for $7 billion. As part of this deal BP sold undeveloped oil sand leases in Canada to Devon Energy for $500 million and formed a joint venture with the company to exploit them. The company also sold its Panyu field, offshore China, to China National Offshore Oil for $515 million.

Consolidating its North American assets to just its onshore properties, In 2010 Devon Energy sold its stakes in the Cascade, Jack and St. Malo fields in the Gulf of Mexico (about 200 million barrels of estimated recoverable reserves) to AP Moller-Maersk's oil unit for $1.3 billion. It also sold its remaining Gulf of Mexico shelf assets to Apache for $1 billion.