Aiming for industry-leading performance

Devon is committed to doing what’s right for the environment. We want to be a good neighbor, a trusted partner and a responsible, competitive operator as we produce oil and natural gas to help meet global demand. We believe exemplary environmental performance is essential to managing risk, capturing forward-looking business opportunities, and delivering long-term value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

To continuously improve our environmental performance, Devon is proactive and results-oriented. We consider the potential impacts of our operations when planning activities and making decisions. We strive to comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, often going above and beyond what’s required. In the process, we incorporate technology, tools and best practices to help minimize or avoid effects on air, water, land and wildlife.

Devon seeks to work with contractors who share our commitment to environmental stewardship. Our contractors must adequately train their personnel to perform environmentally sound work and have programs to comply with applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations. Contractors as well as employees have a responsibility to stop work to prevent spills or other environmental issues. In addition, contractors who perform work on Devon locations are required to complete assessments to help us evaluate their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in key areas.

Devon has established a track record of environmental performance improvements. To document progress on our long-standing priority to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) and methane emissions, we’ve responded to the CDP climate change survey for 20 consecutive years. For almost two decades, we’ve been at the forefront of water conservation efforts in our industry. Devon takes great care to preserve biodiversity and protect wildlife habitat and cultural resources in areas surrounding our operations.

Transparency is important to our stakeholders and keeps us accountable for our results. Devon tracks specific metrics for GHG and methane emissions, flaring, spills, energy use, water use and others. We’ve consistently increased our disclosures in recent years and continue to share this information in this report and other public disclosures. For additional metrics and details on our environmental practices, please refer to our Climate Change Assessment Report and CDP responses.

TAKING ACTION

AIR

  • Reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 location-based GHG emissions 16% and methane emissions 52% in 2023 compared to 2019.

  • Reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 location-based GHG emissions intensity 24% and methane emissions intensity 57% in 2023 compared to 2019.

    Note: Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and methane emissions increased in 2022 compared to 2021 primarily driven by the acquisition of RimRock and Validus, as well as an uptick in combustion-related emissions.

  • Reduced flared volumes by 83% and flared volume intensity by 82% in 2023 compared to 2019.

  • Received the OGMP 2.0 “Gold Standard Pathway” for our implementation plan for enhanced methane emissions reporting.

  • Issued our updated 2023 Climate Change Assessment Report informed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

  • Transitioned from testing innovative methane detection technologies to deploying enhanced detection systems throughout our operations.

  • Implemented our internally developed carbon accounting platform that improves our emissions data precision and reporting methodologies for new regulatory and voluntary reporting requirements.

WATER

  • Used 83 million barrels of recycled water in 2023, an increase of 15% compared to 2022.

  • Since 2015, we have reused over 300 million barrels of water from our water treatment facilities.

BIODIVERSITY

  • Our enterprise-wide Reclamation Standard went into effect to reestablish biodiversity value consistently across the company with the goal of increasing native species diversity and richness in areas we once disturbed.

DEVON'S GOALS

  • Achieved a year-over-year 7% reduction in GHG emissions intensity and 6% reduction in methane emissions intensity.

  • Reduced the number of spills and the volume of spilled fluids by 14% and 30%, respectively, by evaluating spill trends and taking action on those insights.

Driving alignment

Devon has a strong organization to manage environmental performance, from our board of directors to field-level environmental, health and safety (EHS) and operations teams. We’ve been bringing together our EHS and ESG core competencies and capabilities to drive alignment on our broader enterprise goals and objectives.

Our governance practices and organizational structure elevate EHS oversight and discussions, including those related to climate change and the energy transition. The board’s Governance, Environmental and Public Policy (GEPP) Committee reviews policies and performance relating to our environmental efforts and oversees sustainability strategy, goals and integration into our business activities. Through its role to nominate candidates for our board, the GEPP Committee establishes a close connection between corporate governance and sustainability.

The GEPP committee reviews Devon’s advocacy efforts and assists with evaluating political, legislative and regulatory developments that could affect the company. Our vice president of public and government affairs, who reports to our executive vice president and general counsel, leads our efforts to advocate for Devon’s interests, including those related to climate change. Beginning in 2024, this vice president also leads our sustainability and climate-related strategy and external communications, allowing for even deeper alignment between these critical responsibilities at the company.

Our vice president of corporate governance, secretary and associate general counsel, who also reports to our executive vice president and general counsel, leads Devon’s efforts to communicate with shareholders to understand their sustainability and ESG-related interests and expectations and shares those learnings with senior management and the board.

Devon’s board understands that climate change risks are often interrelated with other business and public policy risks. In its regular quarterly meetings, as well as other periodic and special meetings, the board reviews EHS matters brought to its attention and considers issues related to ESG strategy planning and risk management programs, including those pertaining to climate-related risks and opportunities. After approving Devon’s environmental targets in 2021, the board continues to review strategy, spend and progress toward these targets, including the implementation of various new operational and technological approaches.

As a component of executive compensation, environmental results included in our corporate goals are reviewed by the board’s Compensation Committee. In addition, at least seven Devon directors have an educational background or direct work experience in environmental matters.

Operations buy-in

The EHS Council, made up of Devon business unit and operations leaders, helps protect our social license to operate and advance our culture of environmental stewardship. The council sets environmental strategy and goals, tracks performance and evaluates the effectiveness of our environmental policies, protocols and practices. It also proposes corporate environmental goals tied to compensation to the board for approval. To continuously improve our performance, the council reviews environmental incidents and near misses, develops corrective actions as needed and shares best practices across Devon. Council members hold regular discussions with field production leaders to update them on rapidly evolving stakeholder expectations about environmental performance and climate change.

The Devon EHS Management System, developed by the council, includes an environmental management element to drive program improvements and assessments. Our environmental professionals work closely with Devon leaders to promote and implement environmentally sound operations that comply with applicable laws, regulations and company policies. Based on its assessment of Devon’s progress on the elements of our management system, the council is focusing on the asset integrity element in 2024 to enhance our overall environmental performance.

To position Devon for long-term success, the council reviews emerging EHS and ESG issues, as well as proposed laws and regulations and their potential financial, operational and reputational impact on the company. The council drives industry-leading environmental performance by developing environmental goals that are approved by the board as part of our executive compensation formula. In response to stakeholder requests to tie Devon’s compensation directly to our targets, in 2022 we set our first standalone emissions reduction goal. We maintained the standalone emissions reduction goal in 2023. The two-part compensation goal for 2023 included a reduction in our GHG emissions intensity and a reduction in our methane emissions detected by aerial flyovers that together accounted for 15% of the company’s 2023 performance scorecard. Our 2023 GHG emissions intensity reduction fully met the goal we set and the 19% decrease in our methane detection rate was deemed exceptional.

In 2024, the standalone emissions reduction goal enhances our focus on methane emissions mitigation by targeting a reduction in both methane emissions intensity and methane emissions detected by aerial flyovers. Our corporate goals and medium- and long-term goals challenge Devon to improve our environmental performance and hold us accountable for producing oil and natural gas in an environmentally responsible way.

At the executive level, Devon’s executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) is accountable for our environmental compliance and program execution; emission reduction, mitigation and abatement programs; and carbon accounting.

As a result of our organizational efforts, environmental objectives and targets are considered in capital allocation decisions, corporate and business unit planning, and team strategies to operationalize emissions reductions into the way we do business.

Excel Download
Environment Performance Metrics1
2021 2022 2023
Direct GHG Emissions (Scope 1) (million tonnes CO2e)2 Checkmark with solid fill3.95 Checkmark with solid fill Checkmark with solid fill4.59 Checkmark with solid fill4.37
   By Constituent
      Carbon Dioxide (million tonnes CO2e) 3.44 Checkmark with solid fill4.07 Checkmark with solid fill3.87
      Methane (million tonnes CO2e) 0.51 Checkmark with solid fill0.52 Checkmark with solid fill0.50
      Nitrous Oxide (million tonnes CO2e) 0.002 Checkmark with solid fill0.002 Checkmark with solid fill0.003
   By Source
      Flaring/Venting (million tonnes CO2e) 2.32 1.88 1.41
      Combustion (million tonnes CO2e) 1.60 2.69 2.94
      Other (million tonnes CO2e) 0.03 0.02 0.03
Indirect GHG Emissions from Electricity Use (Scope 2 location-based) (million tonnes CO2e)3 Checkmark with solid fill0.34 Checkmark with solid fill0.39 Checkmark with solid fill0.37
Direct and Indirect GHG Emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2 location-based) (million tonnes CO2e)2,3 4.29 Checkmark with solid fill4.98 Checkmark with solid fill4.74
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and methane emissions increased in 2022 compared to 2021, primarily driven by the acquisition of RimRock and Validus, as well as an uptick in combustion-related emissions.
Direct GHG Emissions Intensity (Scope 1) (tCO2e/MBoe)2 14.22 Checkmark with solid fill15.29 Checkmark with solid fill14.27
Direct and Indirect GHG Emissions Intensity (Scope 1 and Scope 2 location-based) (tCO2e/MBoe)2 15.44 Checkmark with solid fill16.58 Checkmark with solid fill15.48
Indirect GHG Emissions from Use of Sold Products (Scope 3, Category 11) (million tonnes CO2e)4 84 90 97
We report indirect emissions from the use of sold products on an equity basis from sources not owned or controlled by Devon; however, it is important to note that Scope 3 emissions estimates are subject to uncertainty, inconsistency and duplication as further described in the Air Emissions section of this report.
Methane Emissions Intensity (Scope 1) (tCO2e/MBoe)2 1.84 Checkmark with solid fill1.72 Checkmark with solid fill1.62
Methane Emissions Intensity - Production Segment (Scope 1) (% of natural gas produced)5 0.20% 0.19% 0.17%
Flared Volume (Bcf) 6.4 3.7 3.2
Flaring Intensity (% of natural gas produced)6 0.93% Checkmark with solid fill0.49% Checkmark with solid fill0.40%
Energy Used - Fuel and Electricity Use (trillion BTU)3 27.18 43.03 46.04
Other Air Emissions - Newly Reported in 2023
      Sulfur Oxides (thousand tonnes) --- --- 0.13
      Nitrogen Oxides (thousand tonnes) --- --- 24.44
      Volatile Organic Compounds (thousand tonnes) --- --- 21.90
Water Usage (million Bbl)7 116 126 150
   Recycled (million Bbl) 61 72 83
   Sourced (million Bbl) 54 54 67
        Fresh (million Bbl) - Newly Reported in 2022 --- 9 7
Water Usage Intensity (Bbl/Boe produced)7 0.42 0.45 0.49
Water Usage Intensity (million Bbl/well completion)7 0.31 0.32 0.26
Water Recycle Rate (recycled water Bbl/water usage Bbl)7 53% 57% 55%
Devon's total water use for completions activities varies with activity levels, targeted formations and lateral lengths, and includes fresh, non-fresh and recycled water volumes. We seek alternatives to freshwater supplies, where possible.
Reportable Spill Events Released to the Environment (events) 280 413 330
Reportable Spill Volumes Released to the Environment (barrels) 5,705 10,858 6,262
1 The environment metrics have been calculated using the best available data at the time of publication. Historical metrics are subject to change as we continuously seek to improve our data management practices, data sources and calculation methodologies in order to provide the highest level of transparency, consistency and accuracy. We report environment metrics on an operated basis, unless otherwise noted.
2 We include all reportable emissions under EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) for Devon operated facilities, as well as non-reportable emissions from our production assets and, beginning in reporting year 2019, gathering and boosting assets. We calculate emissions intensities using gross production as reported under the EPA GHGRP for all reporting segments.
3 We calculate our Indirect GHG Emissions from Electricity Use (Scope 2) on a location-based methodology using EPA fuel and electricity emissions factors.
4 We report indirect emissions from the use of sold products (Scope 3) on an equity basis from sources not owned or controlled by Devon. To estimate our Scope 3 emissions, we rely upon Ipieca's 2016 guidance document Estimating Petroleum Industry Value Chain (Scope 3) Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Per the Ipieca guidance, we report category 11 “Use of Sold Products” by calculating combustion emissions for our oil, natural gas and marketed natural gas liquids products using emissions factors obtained from the EPA and net equity production reported in Devon’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
5 Our methane emissions intensity rate calculation includes all natural gas produced at Devon operated facilities and all methane emissions from Devon operated facilities associated with the production of oil and natural gas.
Click here to see Devon's calculation methodology for methane emissions intensity
6 Our flaring intensity rate calculation includes high-pressure flared volumes associated with the production of oil and natural gas.
Checkmark with solid fill7 Our water usage includes all water sources used in completions activities at facilities operated by Devon in 2023.
ERM CVS provided limited assurance in relation to Devon’s Total Scope 1 GHG emissions and Total Scope 2 GHG emissions (location-based method) for the reporting period January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023. Additionally, ERM CVS provided limited assurance in relation to Devon’s Total Scope 1 GHG emissions and Total Scope 2 GHG emissions (location-based method) for the previous reporting periods of January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.
Basis of Reporting GHG Emissions
Independent Assurance Statement