While the combined company will keep the Devon Energy name, it will be based in Houston.
In a press release, company officials said they intend to keep a "significant presence in Oklahoma City." Over the years, Devon has been a highly visible part of the community.
The company built and occupies the city's largest tower, which is almost 14 years old. According to the company's most recent annual filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, it employed about 2,300 people at the end of 2024.
Company leaders said fusing the two companies will result in $1 billion in synergistic gains, according to the press release. Officials also outlined benefits of the transaction, including becoming one of the largest producers in the Delaware Basin, creating one of the world's leading shale producers and combining AI abilities to create a technology platform for company functions.
In the news release, Devon Energy President and CEO Clay Gaspar said the companies' combined assets and resources will result in higher free cash flow and greater shareholder returns.
"This transformative merger combines two companies with proud histories and cultures of operational excellence, creating a premier shale operator," Gaspar said. "We've now built a diverse asset base of high-quality, long duration inventory to drive resilient value creation and returns for shareholders through cycles."
Both companies' boards of directors unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close this spring. After the merger, the board of directions will be made up of 11 members. Six of them will be from Devon and five from Coterra.
Gaspar will be president and CEO of the new company and Tom Jorden, Coterra Energy's current president and CEO, will be the non-executive chairman of the board.
A Devon Energy spokesperson said people at the company were unavailable to answer questions today.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
