Oklahoma
Devon–Coterra Energy merger raises questions about Oklahoma City’s economic future
A major announcement coming out of Devon Energy on Monday has state and local leaders bracing for its economic impact. Devon announced a merger with Houston-based Coterra Energy and said it is moving its headquarters to Texas.
Devon Energy and Coterra Energy say the all-stock merger will strengthen their Delaware Basin footprint and drive long-term per-share growth.
Governor Kevin Stitt was one of the first to react to the merger, telling News 9 Devon Energy’s CEO Clay Gaspar assured him a majority of its employees will stay in Oklahoma City. Energy experts said only time will tell.
State and local leaders respond to news of Devon Energy’s planned merger with Houston-based Coterra Energy, as well as Devon’s future headquarters shift to Texas.
It remains unclear how the merger will impact Oklahoma City and the local economy, but local economist and energy expect Steve Agee does not think there should be panic.
“Oklahoma has diversified its industries and so 50 years ago the oil and gas sector probably accounted for about 30 percent of our gross state product,” said Agee. “And now it’s probably down to about 12 percent.”
Agee said the Devon Energy executive team will likely be the first to move to Houston. Agee did not want to speculate on how many of the current 2,000 employees will be impacted or what the merger could mean for the Devon Tower.
“It will be interesting to see what happens with that and whether or no they sublease some of that,” said Agee. “Or in terms of a move, we don’t know how many people will move or even need that size of a facility anymore.”
Agee said if base employees remain working locally, Devon will continue to have a financial presence in the city. “Devon has too big of a footprint in Oklahoma City for them to just go away,” said Agee.
Neither Devon or Coterra announced any layoffs or job cuts in the merger announcement.
Devon Energy and Coterra Energy announced an all-stock merger that would combine operations and reshape the future of both companies. Read along to see what we know about the merger.