RETURN OF CAPITAL
Based on the fourth-quarter financial performance, Devon declared a fixed-plus-variable dividend of $0.44 per share, payable on March 28, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2024. The dividend payout consists of the board’s approval to increase the fixed dividend by 10 percent to $0.22 per share and a variable distribution of $0.22 per share.
The company also accelerated the return of capital to shareholders through the continued execution of its $3 billion share-repurchase program. In the fourth quarter, Devon repurchased 5.2 million shares at a total cost of $234 million. With this repurchase program, the company is on track to reduce its outstanding share count by up to 9 percent.
OPERATING RESULTS
Devon’s capital activity in the fourth quarter averaged 24 operated drilling rigs and 6 completion crews across its asset portfolio. This level of activity resulted in 100 gross operated wells being placed online, with an average lateral length of 9,900 feet. Total capital spending, excluding acquisitions, was $940 million in the fourth quarter. This result was 1 percent above the company’s guidance range due to cycle time improvements that accelerated activity and timing of midstream spending.
Production averaged 662,000 oil-equivalent barrels (Boe) per day in the fourth quarter, with oil averaging 317,000 barrels per day. Production exceeded the top end of the company’s guidance range due to better than planned well performance across the portfolio. For the full-year 2023, record-setting oil volumes drove total production 8 percent higher year over year.
Devon’s fourth-quarter operating performance was driven by its Delaware Basin asset, which accounted for 65 percent of the company’s production at 433,000 Boe per day. This production result represents a growth rate of 6 percent compared to the year-ago period, driven by 62 gross operated wells being placed online. Initial production rates from this activity averaged 2,700 Boe per day, with average per-well recoveries estimated at 1.5 million oil-equivalent barrels.
Production costs, including taxes, averaged $12.46 per Boe in the quarter. This low-cost structure, coupled with the benefits of high-margin production resulted in field-level cash margins of $32.47 per Boe.
Devon exited the year with estimated proved reserves of 1.8 billion Boe. Proved undeveloped reserves accounted for 22 percent of the total. Extensions and discoveries from the company’s drilling program added 322 million Boe of reserves in 2023, equating to a replacement rate of 134 percent of production. The capital costs to deliver these extensions and discoveries totaled $3.7 billion, resulting in a finding and development cost of $11.47 per Boe.
2024 OUTLOOK
Devon has reaffirmed its previously issued outlook for production and capital in 2024. The company plans to sustain oil production at around 315,000 barrels per day, with total volumes approximating 650,000 Boe per day. The capital requirements to deliver this production are expected to decline approximately 10 percent year-over-year to a range of $3.3 billion to $3.6 billion.
Due to the addition of a fourth Delaware completion crew in January, the company’s capital program in 2024 is expected to be weighted towards the first half of the year. As a result of this activity timing, first-quarter capital spending is estimated to range from $915 million to $965 million.
In January, severe winter weather across the company’s portfolio led to unplanned power outages and production disruptions. These weather-related curtailments are estimated to reduce first-quarter production by 2 percent. Due to these curtailments, Devon expects first-quarter production to approximate 640,000 Boe per day (48 percent oil).
The company has successfully restored the affected production across all its operating areas and does not expect this weather-related downtime to impact production targets for the full-year 2024.
Additional details of Devon’s forward-looking guidance are available on the company’s website at www.devonenergy.com.
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