NEW YORK -- A more focused, oilier story was the message Devon Energy Corp.'s (NYSE: DVN) president and CEO John Richels brought to IPAA OGIS New York this week. It has been a busy early spring for the exploration and production (E&P) company. It has shed many of its holdings through divestitures. Most recently, Devon sold its Canadian conventional assets to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TO: CNQ.TO) for CA$3.125 billion. The company’s retained Canadian business will consist of its thermal heavy oil, Lloydminster and Horn River assets.

The company plans to repatriate the proceeds to the U.S. to repay debt incurred to finance its big Eagle Ford acquisition from GeoSouthern Energy Corp. The company expects net proceeds of US$2.7 billion from the Canadian sale, after adjusting for currency exchange and taxes associated with the funds’sale and repatriation.

On the domestic midstream front, it recently closed the combination of its midstream assets with the assets of the former Crosstex Energy Inc. and Crosstex Energy LP. Two publicly traded entities are the result: a general partner entity and an MLP. These will operate as EnLink Midstream LLC and EnLink Midstream Partners LP, respectively. Both EnLink Midstream securities began trading on March 10 on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols ENLC (the general partner) and ENLK (the MLP).

Richels said that on the day the midstream assets were rolled into CrossTex, their initial transaction value was $4.8 billion. That has soared to a current market value for Devon’s EnLink ownership to some $8 billion post-transaction—“very accretive to Devon,” he added.

And the CEO said more transactions involving its South Texas, East Oklahoma, Arkoma Basin and Rockies gas assets are on the horizon.

Although the company was once largely focused on natural gas, Richels said the new Devon plans to grow oil production 20% annually. The Eagle Ford assets are central to that plan. Richels said the GeoSouthern assets brought a “terrific” derisked acreage position into the heart of the play. It added a new light oil area that Devon expects to be cash-flow funded in 2015, throwing off $800 million annually to do so.

Overall, Richels said the company has reorganized to fewer core properties with significant and visible oil production, higher operating margins, balance sheet strength and a gas option, should prices rise. Devon bought back some 25% of its stock over the past 10 years. Its planned E&P capital program for this year is $5 billion to $5.4 billion, with just 5% spent on noncore assets.

For 2014, estimated net production is 580 million to 620 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMboe/d) with oil and liquids making up about 55% of the total. Its inventory of oil opportunities include the Eagle Ford development, a strong Permian Basin position, SAGD oil products in Canada and upside potential in emerging plays. The total company enterprise value is some $35 billion.

On its new Eagle Ford assets, Devon now has 82,000 net acres with estimated net production of70,000 to 80,000 boe/d this year, 57% oil. It will spend $1.1 billion this year to drill 200 wells. Richels said the assets are “immediately self-funding” in 2014.

In the Permian Basin, the company will spend $1.5 billion this year and drill 350 wells, mainly in its Wolfcamp, Wolfberry, Bone Spring and Delaware sands areas.

In the Canadian Jackfish play, it looks for a 26% to 28% oil compound annual growth rate through 2016.

An emerging oil opportunity for the company is the Mississipi-Woodford Trend, where it is running eight rigs and plans to drill 200 wells this year, as it will in the Barnett Shale and Anadarko Basin, where it will spend $600 million.

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