Devon Energy’s Q1 2026 call put the company’s U.S. drilling plan squarely around execution, lower well costs and a bigger Delaware Basin opportunity following the Coterra merger. The Coterra merger gives Devon a bigger U.S. drilling platform, but management was careful not to pre-judge where capital ultimately lands. Shareholders approved the deal on May 4, 2026, and it officially closed on May 7, the day after the earnings call. Management expects a combined guidance to be released in mid-June.
CEO Clay Gaspar said Q1 2026 oil production reached 387 Mb/d, as Devon captured “drilling and completion efficiencies through advanced technology and focused execution.” Devon has more than 850 wells on fully autonomous AI-lift optimization, with SVP John Raines saying its Smart Gas Lift program is "using smart AI models to develop a physics-based calculation to optimize gas lift injection rates...we saw about a 2% to 3% uplift", and a full Delaware implementation is already exceeding those pilot test result figures. Raines said the company has added “well over 100 net locations” since last year, mostly in the Delaware, and Q1 acquisition capital was roughly $150 million, “90% Delaware Basin”.
In terms of future drilling plans, the prepared remarks contained little info, but later in Q&A, Gaspar alluded to a measured response to current oil prices, saying Devon does not “steer the ship with the front end of the curve” and is instead “watching the back end of the curve” and broader macro fundamentals before contemplating more than a maintenance program.
