US-based independent natural gas exploration company Devon Energy has announced its plans to return $100m to shareholders after closing its Barnett Shale asset sale in October.

In December last year, Devon Energy signed a definitive agreement to sell all of its assets in Barnett Shale to an affiliate of Kalnin Ventures’ investment business BKV Oil & Gas Capital Partners for $770m.

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The Barnett Shale sale will also enable Devon to receive contingent cash payments of up to $260m based on future commodity prices.

Devon Energy also posted a loss of $670m in its Q2-2020 financial results, compared to a profit of $495m in the same period last year (Q2-2019).

The company plans to cut $300m in costs by the end of this year, adjust production targets, as well as reduce spending on drilling following disappointing Q2 financial results.

Devon Energy executive vice-president and chief financial officer Jeff Ritenour said: “As we navigate through the challenges presented by Covid-19, Devon continues to transform how it operates. The next phase of our strategic plan is to take meaningful and decisive steps to sustainably improve our cost structure and reduce debt.

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“The aggressive reduction of cash costs across our organisation is expected to drive down per-unit expenses by an incremental 10% versus our second-quarter 2020 results.”

In May 2019, Canadian Natural Resources signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Devon Canada in an all-cash deal worth C$3.8bn ($2.8bn).

Devon Energy signed a $553m agreement in March 2018 to sell the southern portion of Barnett Shale.