Earnings season in the oil and gas industry is again upon us and there’s no great secret that most everyone has fared amazingly well in a climate of soaring energy prices and red-hot demand. For some, staying the course to maintain capital discipline and gifting shareholders are what comes next this year—no matter how high commodity prices go. For others, the time is pitch-perfect to increase production and launch large CAPEX projects.

Reese Energy Consulting today is studying the latest news from Okla. City-based Devon, reporting a 1Q profit of $995 million vs $213 million in the same period last year. Like other independents, Devon is challenged by labor and equipment shortages, supply chain issues, and inflationary prices that helped drive its decision to maintain current production of 570-600 MBPD. Same goes for Texas-based Diamondback that recently reiterated a “no means no” response when queried about increasing production.

Then there’s Continental, Hess, and Matador, all of which plan to increase spending and production in 2022. Matador, particularly, is diving into 2Q with a 31% increase in CAPEX at $675 million and a 14% increase in production at 107 MBPD.