Exercising our capabilities and demonstrating cross-sector leadership

Devon prioritizes life safety and business continuity when incidents occur that could impact our employees, our assets, our business and the environment. We dedicate resources to emergency preparedness and follow nationally recognized standards for effective incident management.

Our centralized corporate emergency management function leads Devon’s emergency response and recovery efforts for operational incidents, weather events, supply disruptions and other incidents. We follow the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Incident Management System (NIMS) to manage emergency response in cooperation with community agencies.

Coordinated incident response

Devon provides in-house training, drills and exercises on the NIMS Incident Command System (ICS) to be ready for timely, effective incident response. Our emergency management program leader is a certified Emergency Manager and ICS instructor, which strengthens our capabilities.

As part of post-merger integration efforts, Devon provided incident management training and discussion-based response exercises in all field operating areas and with corporate employees in Oklahoma City in 2021. About one-third of Devon employees are now trained in incident management, and about 150 employees are trained as floor wardens to lead building and facility occupants to safety and provide medical assistance during an emergency.

In 2022, our emergency preparedness program reflects legacy WPX’s strong capabilities in the first hour of response and Devon’s coordinated approach that supports sustained communications and emergency management. During drills and incident responses, we continue to integrate best practices that keep us ready to respond. We are building capabilities across the enterprise and strengthening relationships among departments that may need to work together during a response. In 2022, we are also broadening awareness of how a technology disruption could impact our operations and building resilience across teams through simulated response.

Working with partners

To help promote preparedness, Devon engages law enforcement, fire departments, emergency management and emergency medical services. We follow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Security Exercise and Evaluation Program, which allows us to provide community partners with documentation that validates their participation for federal funding and medical facility accreditation requirements.

Continuous improvement

After every exercise and actual response, we document areas for improvement, best practices and strengths. As part of our continuous improvement efforts, corrective actions are incorporated into our EHS incident management system. When emergencies and incidents occur, these practices enable Devon to protect our workforce, our neighbors and our assets. In turn, we’re protecting our business and license to operate.