PROVED RESERVES
Devon’s legacy estimated proved reserves were 752 million Boe at year-end 2020, with proved undeveloped reserves accounting for 24 percent of the total. The company’s drilling programs successfully added 135 million Boe of reserves through extensions and discoveries in 2020. The capital costs incurred to deliver these extensions and discoveries totaled $1.0 billion, resulting in an attractive finding and development cost of $7.31 per Boe.
Pro forma proved reserves totaled 1,434 million Boe at year-end 2020, with oil reserves reaching 676 million barrels, or nearly 50 percent of the total.
FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Devon reported a net loss of $102 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusting for items analysts typically exclude from estimates, Devon’s core earnings were $0.00 per diluted share.
The company’s operating cash flow, pro forma for the two entities, totaled $773 million in the fourth quarter. This level of cash flow funded all capital requirements and generated $263 million of free cash flow for the combined company.
On Oct. 1, Devon completed the sale of its Barnett Shale assets. The company received a cash payment of $320 million at closing. Devon has the opportunity for contingent cash payments of up to $260 million based upon future commodity prices, with upside participation beginning at either a $2.75 Henry Hub natural gas price or a $50 West Texas Intermediate oil price.
In conjunction with the Barnett closing, Devon paid a $100 million special dividend to shareholders. The special dividend was paid on Oct. 1 in the amount of $0.26 per share.
On a pro forma basis, the company exited the fourth quarter with $2.6 billion of cash and a debt balance of $7.9 billion. Subsequent to year-end, Devon has elected to redeem $43 million of senior notes that were due in 2022, positioning the company with no debt maturities until the second half of 2023.
INDUSTRY-FIRST VARIABLE DIVIDEND DECLARED
In a separate press release issued today, Devon announced its board of directors has declared an industry-first variable cash dividend of $128 million, or $0.19 per share. The variable dividend is in addition to Devon’s previously declared fixed quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share. Both the fixed and variable dividends are payable on Mar. 31, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Mar. 15, 2021.
UPDATED 2021 OUTLOOK
Due to strong operating results in the Delaware Basin, Devon is raising its full-year 2021 oil production forecast to a range of 280,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. This compares to the company’s preliminary outlook issued last year of greater than 280,000 barrels per day.
Devon expects to deliver this improved 2021 oil production outlook with an upstream capital budget of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. The capital program is designed to have the highest capital spend occurring in the first quarter (approximately 30 percent of the total budget) due to the timing of drilling and completion activity across the company’s asset portfolio. After heightened activity in the first-quarter, capital is expected to normalize to lower investment levels throughout the remainder of 2021.
Devon intends to provide detailed first-quarter 2021 guidance once the company can properly access the impact of the extreme winter weather on its field operations. Devon has incorporated weather-related downtime in its 2021 outlook and does not expect the severe winter weather to materially impact its full-year guidance ranges. Due to the timing of the merger closing, reported results will begin to include WPX on Jan. 7, 2021.
Additional details of Devon’s forward-looking guidance are available on the company’s website at www.devonenergy.com.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
Devon strives to deliver results that balance economic growth, environmental stewardship, strong governance and social responsibility. For access to Devon’s sustainability report, please visit www.devonenergy.com/sustainability. This report highlights the company’s commitment to operating a responsible, safe and ethical business while providing transparent reporting to all stakeholders.
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