Devon Energy in acquisition marathon

US oil producer Devon Energy announced plans Monday to buy assets in the Anadarko Basin worth $1.9 billion from Felix Energy as the global crude price slump continues. The deal will give Devon up to 10 prospective zones spread over Oklahoma and Texas.

Devon also agreed to pay $600 million for acreage in the Powder River Basin in a separate deal on Monday. The deal includes the production of 7,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with 85 percent oil.

The company signed another high-profile deal in November when it bought GeoSouthern Energy’s share in Eagle Ford shale for $6 billion in cash. The acreage included in the deal currently produces 53,000 barrels of oil per day, with estimated recoverable reserves of 400 million barrels of oil.

The 60-percent drop in oil prices since mid-2014 has forced producers to shrink budgets and raise cash, which Devon is planning to do through pipeline and upstream divestitures to generate $2 billion-3 billion. The company’s new acquisitions point to a long-term goal of maximising production when oil prices enter recovery.