History
Spun off from Williams in 2011, WPX Energy sold its Argentine, Piceance and San Juan assets, bought into the Permian, and merged into Devon Energy in January 2021.
2011-2014: Independence from Williams
WPX Energy became an independent company when The Williams Companies distributed all of its WPX shares to its own stockholders on December 31, 2011. The New York Stock Exchange had cleared the shares for trading in early December. A new nine-name board took over, two directors (Alan S. Armstrong and Donald R. Chappel) resigned from it, and agreements with Williams covered employee matters, taxes and temporary transition services.
The record for 2012 and most of 2013 is quiet. In December 2013, WPX agreed with shareholder Taconic Capital Advisors to add a twelfth board seat for a Taconic candidate, who would sit on a new committee searching for an outside chief executive. In return Taconic accepted limits on contesting board elections. The filing does not say why the search was under way.
In late 2014 the company reshaped its finances and portfolio. In September it sold $500 million of 5.25% senior notes due 2024. In October it agreed to sell its roughly 69% stake in Apco Oil and Gas International, along with other Argentine interests, to Pluspetrol. In November it replaced its bank credit agreement with a new $1.5 billion unsecured revolving facility running to October 2019.
2015-2016: Buying the Permian, selling the rest
The Pluspetrol sale closed on January 29, 2015 at $14.50 per Apco share, bringing in about $294 million and leaving WPX focused on US oil and gas. Those holdings had been 6% of third-quarter 2014 production.
In July 2015 WPX agreed to buy RKI Exploration & Production, with Delaware Basin assets in the Permian of roughly 22,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day and about 92,000 net acres. The deal was worth about $2.75 billion before adjustments and was paid partly in 40,000,000 new WPX shares, plus cash. It closed on August 17, 2015. The company set a target of $800 million to $1 billion of asset sales by the end of 2016. Shares on issue rose from about 203 million at the end of 2014 to about 275 million a year later; the 40,000,000 RKI shares account for only part of that rise.
The sales began quickly. In April 2016 WPX completed the sale of its Piceance Basin business in Colorado to Terra Energy Partners for $910 million. In March it had swapped its credit facility for a $1.2 billion secured revolver. In July it agreed with some holders of its 6.25% mandatory convertible preferred stock to convert 2,201,180 preferred shares early into 10,227,872 common shares plus about $9 million in cash, which it said reduced dividend payments but diluted common holders.
2017-2019: Focusing on two basins
In March 2017 WPX paid $775 million in cash for oil and gas leases, wells and gathering systems in four Texas counties from Panther Energy Company II and CP2 Operating. In August it added $150 million to its 5.25% 2024 notes, bringing that series to $650 million.
In March 2018 it completed the $700 million sale of its Gallup oil assets in New Mexico to Enduring Resources IV, completing its exit from the San Juan Basin and leaving the Delaware and Williston basins. It kept a guarantee on certain midstream obligations that it believed was highly unlikely to be called on. In April 2018 it amended its credit agreement, extending maturity to 2023 and raising the borrowing base to $1.8 billion. In May it sold $500 million of 5.750% notes due 2026, and in September 2019 it sold $600 million of 5.250% notes due 2027. Shares on issue stood at about 417 million at the end of 2019.
2020-2021: Felix and the Devon merger
In December 2019 WPX agreed to buy Felix Energy Holdings II for $2.5 billion: $900 million in cash plus 152,963,671 new shares. In January 2020 it raised $900 million of 4.500% notes due 2030, held in escrow to help fund the cash portion. Shareholders approved the share issue on March 5, 2020, and the deal closed on March 6. Two Felix nominees joined the board. Share count rose to about 561 million by year-end.
In June 2020, after oil prices fell, WPX cut its 2020 spending plan to about $900 million to $1.2 billion and shut in about 30,000 barrels a day in May. It launched a $500 million notes offering to fund tender offers for some older notes.
On September 26, 2020 WPX agreed to a merger with Devon Energy, with each WPX share converting into 0.5165 Devon shares and WPX holders to own about 43% of the combined company. Both companies' shareholders were due to vote on December 30, 2020. The merger closed on January 7, 2021. WPX became a wholly owned Devon subsidiary, its stock was delisted from the NYSE, its credit agreement was repaid and ended, and its directors and officers left their roles. On January 28, 2021 it ended the registration of a class of its securities, ending its reporting obligation for them. The outcome of twelve stockholder lawsuits over the merger and the fate of its senior notes were not stated in the filings.
Written from the 34 story beats below (2011 to 28 Jan 2021), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.