DVN: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

Our operations are subject to various federal, state, tribal and local laws and regulations relating to exploration and production activities, including with respect to: •acquisition of seismic data; acquisition of seismic data; •design, location, drilling and casing of wells; design, location, drilling and casing of wells; •hydraulic fracturing; hydraulic fracturing; •well production, and the gathering and transportation of such production; well production, and the gathering and transportation of such production; •spill prevention plans; spill prevention plans; •emissions and discharge permitting; emissions and discharge permitting; •use, transportation, storage and disposal of fluids and materials incidental to oil and gas operations; use, transportation, storage and disposal of fluids and materials incidental to oil and gas operations; •surface usage and the restoration of properties upon which wells have been drilled; surface usage and the restoration of properties upon which wells have been drilled; •calculation and disbursement of royalty payments and production taxes; calculation and disbursement of royalty payments and production taxes; •plugging and abandoning of wells; and plugging and abandoning of wells; and •endangered species and habitat. endangered species and habitat. Our operations are also subject to conservation regulations, including the regulation of the size of drilling and spacing units or proration units; the number of wells that may be drilled in a unit; the rate of production allowable from oil and gas wells; and the unitization or pooling of oil and gas properties. Some states allow the forced pooling or unitization of tracts to facilitate exploration and development, while other states rely on voluntary pooling of lands and leases. Such rules often impact the ultimate timing of our exploration and development plans. In addition, federal and state conservation laws generally limit the venting or flaring of natural gas, and state conservation laws impose certain requirements regarding the ratable purchase of production. These regulations limit the amounts of oil and gas we can produce from our wells and the number of wells or the locations at which we can drill. Certain of our leases are granted or approved by the federal government and administered by the BLM or Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior. Such leases require compliance with detailed federal regulations and orders that regulate, among other matters, drilling and operations on lands covered by these leases and calculation and disbursement of royalty payments to the federal government, tribes or tribal members. Moreover, the permitting process for oil and gas activities on federal and Indian lands can sometimes be subject to delay, including as a result of challenges to permits or other regulatory decisions brought by non-governmental organizations or other parties, which can hinder development activities or otherwise adversely impact operations. The federal government has, from time to time, evaluated and, in some cases, promulgated new rules and regulations regarding competitive lease bidding, venting and flaring, oil and gas measurement and royalty payment obligations for production from federal lands.