While Devon Energy stated this week it anticipates spending close to $4 billion in its capital program for 2025 with half of it allocated to the Delaware Basin, the Oklahoma City oil and gas company intends to continue exploration in Oklahoma, showing it is not ignoring the state’s own oil producing regions. The company indicated it intends to start drilling in the second quarter in Blaine County.
In announcing strong fourth quarter and full-year earnings, Devon explained it had entered last month into an extension of an agreement made with Dow to jointly develop part of Devon’s Anadarko acreage in central Oklahoma.
“Under this agreement, Devon will monetize half of its working interest in 49 undrilled locations in exchange for approximately a $40 million drilling carry,” stated Devon in its earnings report.
“The average working interest is estimated at 70 percent across a mix of drilling locations. Activity in 2025 will start with the
development of two drilling units in Blaine County, where drilling operations are expected to commence in the second quarter of
2025. Devon will serve as operator and is responsible for capital allocation and project timing subject to the agreement.”
The majority of Devon’s drilling rigs are in the Delaware Basin but it also has units in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. The company said it averaged 24 operated drilling rigs and 6 completion crews during the fourth quarter and they put 128 operated wells online.
The Anadarko was also part of Devon’s execution of $116 million in multiple leasehold acquisitions in all three of the basins.
Devon also recently dissolved its partnership with BPX, a partner in the Blackhawk field in the Eagle Ford play of south Texas. The transaction, expected to close on April 1, will leave Devon with nearly 46,000 net acres and a 95% working interest and operatorship. Devon said it will result in a greater flexibility to allocate capital and the firm anticipates material drilling and completion savings per well.
As a result of the strong earnings, Devon expects its 2025 capital program to be $3.8 to $4 billion and more than half of it will be allocated to the Delaware Basin. The firm expects production to be up to 825,000 Boe a day and oil production of 386,000 a day.
