Integrating The Delaware Basin: Devon Energy Reaches Final Investment Decision on Solitude Pipeline System

Integrating The Delaware Basin: Devon Energy Reaches Final Investment Decision on Solitude Pipeline System

HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) today announced a positive Final Investment Decision ("FID") on the Solitude Pipeline System, a WhiteWater-led joint venture that will construct two 48-inch natural gas pipelines connecting the Permian Basin to Katy, TX. Solitude is the latest in a deliberate series of steps Devon has taken to integrate and consolidate the infrastructure supporting its Delaware Basin position. Our integrated business model is built to convert basin-level constraints into durable margin and to capture value across the entire value chain, from the wellhead to the demand center.

The Solitude Pipeline System is designed for a phased build-out of approximately 2.25 Bcf per day entering service in the second half of 2029, followed by a similarly sized second phase in 2030 and the ability to expand further to meet shipper demand. Construction and in-service timing remain subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Devon has secured firm transportation capacity and will hold a 25% equity interest in the joint venture, alongside WhiteWater (50%), MPLX (10%), Diamondback Energy (7.5%) and Western Midstream Partners (7.5%).

UNLOCKING VALUE IN PERMIAN NATURAL GAS

Permian producers have long absorbed volatile and periodically negative pricing at the Waha hub, where takeaway capacity has repeatedly failed to keep pace with associated gas growth. Firm, long-haul capacity to the Gulf Coast changes that equation: it moves the majority of Devon's Delaware gas out of Waha and into markets that will be tied to expanding LNG export and power generation, where North American liquefaction capacity is expected to more than double by the end of the decade.

Devon has already initiated the process of securing international LNG-linked pricing, including a 100 MMcf per day agreement beginning in 2027 and an additional 150 MMcf per day in 2028. Solitude gives Devon the scale and duration to access this growing LNG demand, presenting an opportunity to enhance the value of our natural gas portfolio.

"Solitude is not a standalone investment; it is the next step in an integrated model we have been building for years," said Clay Gaspar, president and CEO. "We have taken the hardest constraints in the Delaware Basin: water, processing, compression, takeaway and power, and have de-risked the physical constraints turning each one into a source of value rather than a tax on our returns. The company's integrated model continues to lower our cost of supply - driving free cash flow higher and deepening our peer-leading Delaware inventory. Our advantaged position will continue to enhance the company's Delaware return profile and will enable Devon to achieve differentiated resource capture.

AN INTEGRATED DELAWARE BASIN: VALUE CREATION FROM WELLHEAD TO MARKET

Devon holds one of the largest operated positions in the economic core of the Delaware Basin, the asset that anchors more than half of the company's production and free cash flow. Over the past several years, Devon has systematically taken ownership or long-term contractual control of the infrastructure that position depends on for optimal and profitable development:

• Crude and NGL market access. Devon has built a parallel path to market its liquids, holding firm crude transportation from the Delaware Basin to the Gulf Coast. The company exports crude on an FOB basis across five to seven loading windows per month, through its VLCC position at Ingleside and through Pin Oak, where Devon holds an equity interest, providing direct waterborne access to international buyers. On the NGL side, Devon markets an LPG FOB program scaling toward three to five loading windows per month that prices a portion of its barrel against international benchmarks, supported by diversified fractionation capacity and Gulf Coast storage.
• Gas takeaway. Devon has underwritten multiple long-haul projects to solve Permian egress, taking early equity positions where the risk-adjusted return warranted it. The company was a founding equity owner in Matterhorn Express, which it monetized in 2025 at a substantial gain while retaining its transportation rights. Devon has secured an additional 550 MMcf per day of firm transportation capacity on Blackcomb and Eiger, further expanding its access to Gulf Coast markets. The Solitude pipeline represents the next step in that progression, adding long-dated capacity and further diversifying Devon's pathways to growing LNG and power-generation demand.
• Gas processing. Devon owns a 50% interest in Catalyst Midstream Partners, its gas gathering and processing joint venture with Howard Energy Partners, which serves Devon's Stateline development with more than 600 MMcf per day of gas processing capacity.
• Gas gathering and compression. In August 2025, Devon acquired the remaining third-party interests in Cotton Draw Midstream, moving to 100% ownership of the gathering and compression system serving the company's Cotton Draw development. Combined with the company's Stateline and Triple Crown gas gathering and compression systems, Devon has 3.4 Bcf per day of operated compression capacity.
• Power and in-basin demand. Devon has built approximately 1,200 miles of electrical distribution infrastructure and four in-basin microgrids with roughly 75 MW of installed capacity, securing reliable electricity in a supply-constrained region. Devon is simultaneously underwriting new local demand for its own gas, agreeing to supply 115 MMcf per day over a seven-year term to CPV's 1,350-megawatt Basin Ranch Energy Center in Ward County, Texas, beginning in 2028 at pricing indexed to ERCOT West.
• Produced water. In 2023, Devon combined its Stateline produced-water gathering and disposal system with WaterBridge NDB, contributing approximately 210 miles of pipeline and 18 disposal wells. Following WaterBridge Infrastructure's (NYSE: WBI) September 2025 initial public offering, Devon retains an approximate 13% ownership position in what is now one of the largest produced-water platforms in the Delaware Basin. Devon continues to build out its owned and operated water systems in the Delaware Basin with nearly 1,000 miles of water pipeline and a system capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day.
  
  

"Owning and controlling this infrastructure allows for improved commercial terms that lower operating costs, earlier visibility into opportunities, and direct exposure to the demand centers that will set the price of our products for the next decade," Gaspar continued. "Our track record, from WaterBridge to Cotton Draw to Matterhorn Express, reflects the discipline we bring to these decisions. We intend to keep applying that discipline, and this integrated model, to create long-term value for our shareholders for years to come."

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Devon Energy Corporation in connection with the transaction.

ABOUT DEVON ENERGY

Devon Energy is a leading oil and gas producer in the U.S. with a diversified multi-basin portfolio headlined by a world-class acreage position in the Delaware Basin. Devon's disciplined cash-return business model is designed to achieve strong returns, generate free cash flow and return capital to shareholders, while focusing on safe and sustainable operations. For more information, please visit https://www.devonenergy.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Such statements include those concerning strategic plans, our expectations and objectives for future operations, as well as other future events or conditions, and are often identified by use of the words and phrases "expects," "believes," "will," "would," "could," "continue," "may," "aims," "likely to be," "intends," "forecasts," "projections," "estimates," "plans," "expectations," "targets," "opportunities," "potential," "anticipates," "outlook" and other similar terminology. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Devon expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Consequently, actual future results could differ materially and adversely from our expectations due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the volatility of oil, gas and NGL prices, including from the impact of ongoing or escalating armed conflicts, wars and geopolitical instability and from changes in trade relations and policies, such as the imposition of new or increased tariffs or other trade protection measures by the U.S., China or other countries; uncertainties inherent in estimating oil, gas and NGL reserves; the extent to which we are successful in acquiring and discovering additional reserves; the uncertainties, costs and risks involved in our operations; risks related to our hedging activities; our limited control over third parties who operate some of our oil and gas properties and investments; midstream capacity constraints and potential interruptions in production, including from limits to the build out of midstream infrastructure; competition for assets, materials, people and capital, which can be exacerbated by supply chain disruptions, including as a result of tariffs or other changes in trade policy; regulatory restrictions, compliance costs and other risks relating to governmental regulation, including with respect to federal lands, environmental matters, water disposal and tax matters; climate change and risks related to regulatory, social and market efforts to address climate change; risks relating to our sustainability initiatives; claims, litigation, audits and other proceedings impacting our business, including with respect to historic and legacy operations; governmental interventions in energy markets; counterparty credit risks; risks relating to our indebtedness; cybersecurity risks; risks associated with artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies; the extent to which insurance covers any losses we may experience; risks related to shareholder activism; our ability to successfully complete mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; our ability to pay dividends and make share repurchases; risks related to the merger with Coterra, including the risk that we may not realize the anticipated synergies or other benefits of the merger or successfully integrate the two legacy businesses; and any of the other risks and uncertainties discussed in Devon's 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "2025 Form 10-K") or other filings with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, represent management's current reasonable expectations as of the date of this press release and are subject to the risks and uncertainties identified above as well as those described elsewhere in the 2025 Form 10-K and in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of our forward-looking statements, and readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in the 2025 Form 10-K and in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Devon, or persons acting on its behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. We do not undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty to update or revise our forward-looking statements based on new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: Devon Energy Corporation