American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2021 - 39

SpecialReport: Devon Energy
While nothing in this business is ever certain, Devon has
proven time and again that it has the people, assets, strategy, and
technology to withstand the hits and somehow come out on top.
Even from its earliest days, Devon was built on a different kind
of thinking about the business, and
how to grow long-term value.
" When we started, the vision
was to build a U.S. oil and gas
powerhouse, " Nichols reflects. " We
were always looking for new technologies
and modern ways to produce
oil and gas because we wanted
to be innovators. "
By the time John Nichols passed
in 2008, the company had completed
a series of mega-acquisitions that
had catapulted it to the top of the
list of independent producers. But
" the Barnett Shale deal " that Devon
closed in 2002 to acquire Mitchell
Energy was the move that completed
its metamorphosis from a familyowned
small business to a Wall
Street darling with a portfolio rivaling
the biggest names in the industry.
Devon cracked the Fortune
500 that same year and was well
on its way to becoming the largest
U.S.-based independent.
Powerhouse status accomplished.
Impressive Story
But it was through a lot of
being done amid plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas
emissions for Scopes 1 and 2 by 2050 and cut methane emissions
intensity by 65 percent by 2030.
Despite the magnitude of the challenges, the company is positioned
to achieve its ambitious
goals, says Executive Chairman
David A. Hager, a former Devon
president and CEO.
" Devon is in a very strong position
to have an incredibly bright next 50
years, " Hager enthuses. " We are now
positioned as one of the strongest
oil and gas companies in North America
with a very strong asset base. We
are executing at a very high level in
our operations and in all of our
groups throughout the company. I
think it shows that this company has
been progressive from the beginning
and is going to continue to be progressive
with a strong foundation in
our traditional business that will
allow us, when appropriate, to transition
into other opportunities. "
hard work, sheer force of will,
and innovation-at times out of
necessity-that a startup with no
assets was transformed into an
industry dynamo with a starring
role in the unconventional oil and
gas revolution, points out President
and Chief Executive Officer Rick Muncrief.
" When you think about the company that John and Larry
Nichols started, and the fact that it had little money or assets, and
you see how they built it into a company with a truly global reach
on different continents, it is a very impressive story, " he says.
Devon's culture of continuous innovation and high expectations
was established by the Nichols long before Devon became a
publicly traded global juggernaut through a series of mergers,
acquisitions and the drill bit.
A half century after its founding in and fresh off a significant
" merger of equals " with WPX Energy, Devon is looking to
advance its competitive edge through drilling and completion
techniques in the Delaware Basin and other core operating
areas to support an industry-first variable dividend. The work is
" When we started, the vision was to build
a U.S. oil and gas powerhouse. We were
always looking for new technologies and
modern ways to produce oil and gas
because we wanted to be innovators. "
LARRY NICHOLS
Chairman Emeritus, Co-Founder
Devon Energy Corp.
Building Something Better
Devon's achievements are as
much the result of integrity and the
dedication of frontline employees
as company leadership, insists
Muncrief, who was CEO at WPX
Energy prior to the January 2021
merger. Indeed, employees from
legacy Devon and WPX continue
to demonstrate a willingness to make
sacrifices and embrace an organizational
mindset dedicated to continual
improvement that will further
fuel the company's success, he adds.
" It is a testimony to the quality
of the people and the cultures, and the recognition that, even
though you are good, you can build something better, " he
comments. " I am very proud of how the companies have come
together. Devon was in a very strong position and had a positive
outlook prior to the WPX merger; we have been able to further
strengthen the company. Put the two together, and I think we
have a great outlook and a strong company and culture. "
Devon's winning mindset was birthed in financial innovation
that began when John Nichols, an accountant, became the first
to register an oil and gas drilling fund with the U.S. Securities
& Exchange Commission in 1950. John and Larry-then a practicing
attorney who had clerked for both U.S. Supreme Court
Chief Justice Earl Warren and Associate Justice Tom C. Clark,
and worked for William Rehnquist when Rehnquist was a U.S.
JULY 2021 39
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2021

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