Devon Earnings: Accelerated Completions Push Production Near Top of Guidance

Devon posted production volumes near the top end of management guidance, at 662 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared with 664 mboe/d at the midpoint (up 4% sequentially). But the upside is explained by accelerating activity into the second quarter that was planned for the back half of the year. The firm was always planning a front-loaded capital program, with a temporary fourth fracking crew in the Permian in the first half of the year only. This was expected to drive a third-quarter peak in completion activity, but the surge came early (new wells went from 97 in the first quarter to 131 in the second, and updated guidance calls for 90 in the third quarter). There’s no change to the full-year outlook for production or capital spending, and the firm anticipates a similar cadence in 2024.