Devon Energy, the largest producer in North Texas’ Barnett Shale, has lots of drilling ahead of it in the natural gas play, company Executive Chairman Larry Nichols said today.

“We have at least 7,500 undrilled locations,” said Nichols, who stepped down last year as Devon’s CEO after 30 years in the job.
Devon plans to keep about a dozen drilling rigs busy in the Barnett this year and will drill perhaps 325 wells, Nichols said.

The Oklahoma City-based company has an office in downtown Fort Worth and 550 employees involved in Barnett Shale operations.
Devon’s net Barnett production peaked at the equivalent of 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in the fourth quarter of last year.

As a result of weak gas prices and limited demand, the company will probably maintain production at about that level this year, but it has the capability to increase output to at least 1.5 billion cubic feet, Nichols said.