OREANDA-NEWS. November 13, 2014. Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) today reported net earnings of USD1.0 billion or USD 2.48 per common share (USD 2.47 per diluted share) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2014. This compares with third-quarter 2013 net earnings of USD 429 million or USD 1.06 per common share (USD 1.05 per diluted share).

Adjusting for items securities analysts typically exclude from their published estimates, the company earned USD 552 million or USD 1.34 per diluted share in the third quarter. This represents a 4 percent increase in adjusted earnings compared to the third quarter of 2013.

Devon generated cash flow from operations totaling USD 1.6 billion in the third quarter. Combined with USD 2.3 billion of pre-tax proceeds from the sale of non-core U.S. assets, Devon’s total cash inflows for the quarter approached USD 4 billion.

“Devon’s repositioned portfolio delivered outstanding growth in production and margins in the third quarter,” said John Richels , president and CEO. “With our strong position in many of North America’s best resource plays and our focused efforts to deliver high-quality performance, we saw profitability continue to expand.”

“Based on our strong year-to-date results and the confidence we have in our portfolio, we are raising our full-year production growth outlook to 14 percent, up from our previous guidance of 11 percent,” Richels said. “And we are delivering this incremental production growth without any increase in capital spending.”

Oil Production Exceeds Expectations

In the third quarter, total production from Devon’s retained assets averaged 640,000 oil-equivalent barrels (Boe) per day. This result exceeded the company’s guidance range and represents a 19 percent increase year over year. Oil and liquids production accounted for 55 percent of the company’s retained asset production mix in the third quarter.

Devon delivered record oil production in North America during the third quarter of 2014. Oil production from retained assets averaged 216,000 barrels per day, exceeding the top end of the company’s guidance range by 6,000 barrels per day. This represents a 44 percent increase compared to the third quarter of 2013. The most significant growth came from the company’s U.S. operations, where oil production increased a substantial 77 percent year over year.

Growth in U.S. production was largely attributable to strong results from Devon’s oil development plays. In the third quarter, the company’s world-class Eagle Ford assets continued to deliver prolific well results. Net production in the Eagle Ford increased to an average of 87,000 Boe per day in September, an increase of 76 percent compared to Devon’s first month of ownership in March 2014. In the Permian Basin, led by outstanding results from the Bone Spring play, total production increased to 98,000 Boe per day. This represents a 20 percent increase in Permian production compared to the year-ago quarter.

In Canada, Devon achieved first oil from its Jackfish 3 project in the third quarter, commencing another leg of multi-year oil production growth from its heavy oil business. Additionally, the start-up of Jackfish 3 will begin a new era from the Jackfish complex, with the potential to generate up to a \\$1 billion per year of free cash flow, after maintenance capital.