Permian oil producer Diamondback Energy rebuffed calls to ramp up output growth in the near term, citing the "uncertainty and volatility currently in the market."
Cost pressures and supply chain constraints pose additional obstacles, according to chief executive Travis Stice.
"Increasing activity today would result in capital efficiency degradation and would not meaningfully contribute to the global supply and demand imbalance in the oil market today," he said.
US lawmakers have called on US producers such as Diamondback to step up drilling in response to the war in Ukraine, which has driven up crude prices, to bring down fuel costs. But with most publicly-traded companies focused on improving investor returns rather than expanding drilling, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
Diamondback pledged to maintain current production, keep spending in check and return at least half of free cash flow to investors. The company increased the quarterly dividend by 17pc to 70¢/share, and announced a variable cash dividend of $2.35/share.
First quarter production of 381,378 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) was up from 307,422 boe/d in the same period of 2021. Diamondback maintained its full-year guidance of 369,000-376,000 boe/d.
The company posted a profit of $779mn in the first quarter, up from $220mn a year ago.
