Devon Energy
Devon Energy Corporation is a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in the 50-story Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its operations are in the Barnett Shale, STACK Formation in Oklahoma, Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford Group shale, and the Rocky Mountains.[1]
Public company | |
Traded as | NYSE: DVN S&P 500 Index component |
ISIN | US25179M1036 |
Industry | Petroleum industry |
Founded | 1971 |
Founder | John Nichols J. Larry Nichols |
Headquarters | Devon Energy Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States |
Key people | David A. Hager, CEO & President Jeffrey L. Ritenour, CFO |
Products | Petroleum Natural gas Natural gas liquids |
Production output | 327 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (2,000,000 GJ) per day (2019) |
Revenue | |
Total assets | |
Total equity | |
Number of employees | 1,800 (2019) |
Website | www |
Footnotes / references [1] |
The company is ranked 297th on the Fortune 500.[2]
As of December 31, 2019, the company had proved reserves of 757 million barrels of oil equivalent (4.63×109 GJ).[1]
History
Devon was founded in 1971 by John Nichols and his son, J. Larry Nichols.[3]
In 1988, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.[3]
In August 2000, the company was added to the S&P 500 Index.[4]
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.[5]
In August 2008, co-founder John Nichols died.[3]
In March 2010, the company sold assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan, and the Gulf of Mexico to BP for $7 billion.[6]
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.[7]
In April 2014, the company sold its conventional assets in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources for C$3.125 billion.[8]
In June 2014, the company sold assets to Linn Energy for $2.3 billion.[9]
In August 2015, Dave Hager was named president and chief executive officer of the company.[10]
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.[11][12]
In 2017, the company sold its Lavaca County assets in the Eagle Ford.[13]
In June 2019, the company sold its assets in Canada to Canadian Natural Resources for CAD $3.8 billion.[14][15]
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.[16]
Acquisitions
# | 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 | [17] |
2 | 1996 | Kerr-McGee | $250 million | North American onshore oil and gas properties, 370,000 net acres of undeveloped drilling rights | [18] |
3 | 1998 | Northstar Energy | $750 million | Oil and gas properties in Canada | [19] |
4 | 1999 | PennzEnergy | $2.2 billion | Oil and gas properties in the Gulf Of Mexico | [20] |
5 | 2000 | Santa Fe Snyder | $2.35 billion | [4] | |
6 | 2001 | Anderson Exploration | $4.6 billion | Canadian properties | [21] |
7 | 2002 | Mitchell Energy | $3.5 billion | Properties in the Barnett Shale of Texas | [22] |
8 | 2003 | Ocean Energy | $5.3 billion | Deepwater sites in the Gulf of Mexico | [23] |
9 | 2006 | Chief Oil and Gas | $2.2 billion | Barnett Shale leasehold | [24] |
10 | 2014 | GeoSouthern Energy | $6.1 billion | Eagle Ford assets | [25] |
11 | 2014 | Crosstex Energy | Merger of midstream assets to form EnLink Midstream, LLC | [26] | |
12 | 2015 | Felix Energy | $2.5 billion | Assets in the Powder River Basin & Anadarko Basin | [27] |
Political activity
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.[28] 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.[29]
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.[30]
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.[31]
References
- "Devon Energy Corporation 2019 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- "Fortune 500: Devon Energy". Fortune.
- Miller, Stephen (August 9, 2008). "Former Accountant Worked to Build Devon Energy Into Industry Giant". The Wall Street Journal.
- "Devon Energy and Santa Fe Snyder Complete Merger" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 29, 2000.
- Feder, Barnaby J. (February 27, 2004). "Funds Want Oil Companies To Report On Climate". The New York Times.
- "BP pays Devon Energy $7bn for Brazilian, Azeri, and Gulf of Mexico assets". The Daily Telegraph. Reuters. March 11, 2010.
- Pulsinelli, Olivia (October 11, 2012). "Devon Energy cutting 1,000 jobs, slashing dividend". American City Business Journals.
- "Devon Energy Completes Sale of Canadian Conventional Assets" (Press release). Business Wire. April 2, 2014.
- "LINN Energy Announces $2.3 Billion Acquisition of Assets from Devon Energy" (Press release). GlobeNewswire. June 30, 2014.
- "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.
- Wilmoth, Adam (February 16, 2016). "Devon Energy to lay off 700 in Oklahoma City". The Oklahoman.
- Baker, Max B. (February 17, 2016). "Devon Energy cutting 1,000 jobs, slashing dividend". Fort Worth Star Telegram.
- "Devon Energy Announces $340 Million of Non-Core Asset Sales" (Press release). Business Wire. July 31, 2017.
- "Devon Energy Completes Sale of Canadian Business" (Press release). Globe Newswire. June 27, 2019.
- "Devon Energy Announces Final Step to Complete Transformation to U.S. Oil Growth Company" (Press release). Business Wire. February 19, 2019.
- Chapa, Sergio (November 12, 2019). "Devon Energy one step away from capping blowout in DeWitt County". Houston Chronicle.
- "Hondo Oil Offer". The New York Times. February 29, 1992.
- Vandewater, Bob (January 1, 1997). "Devon Obtains Kerr-McGee Oil, Gas Properties". The Oklahoman.
- "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.
- "Devon Energy and PennzEnergy Announce Completion of Merger" (Press release). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 17, 1999.
- "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.
- "Mitchell Energy & Development Corp acquired by Devon Energy Corp". TechCrunch.
- WILMOTH, ADAM (April 26, 2003). "Devon completes $5.3 billion merger with Ocean Energy; More than 98 percent approve companies' deal". The Oklahoman.
- "Devon acquiring Barnett shale acreage from Chief". Oil & Gas Journal. May 8, 2006.
- "Devon Energy Completes Acquisition of Eagle Ford Assets from GeoSouthern Energy" (Press release). Business Wire. February 28, 2014.
- "Devon Energy and Crosstex Energy to Create New Midstream Business" (Press release). Business Wire. October 21, 2013.
- "Devon Energy Sharpens Focus on Core Assets" (Press release). Business Wire. December 7, 2015.
- "Devon Energy: Total Contributions by Party of Recipient". Center for Responsive Politics.
- "Devon Energy: Profile for 2016 Election Cycle". Center for Responsive Politics.
- Lipton, Eric (December 6, 2014). "Energy Firms in Secretive Alliance With Attorneys General". The New York Times.
- Bogoslaw, David (January 11, 2016). "Shareholders ask oil producers for climate lobbying disclosure". Corporate Secretary.
External links
- Business data for Devon Energy: