Larry Nichols, chief executive of Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) said Wednesday the company would boost its production this year, despite production curtailments in the second half of 2009.

During a call to discuss the company's second quarter earnings, Nichols said that overall production would increase by 7 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2009. At the same time, the company plans to curtail production of 3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day. Devon will defer some well completions, shut in some marginal wells in the Rockies and slow its output in the Barnett Shale, where the company produced about 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day during the second quarter.

Despite a lower drilling activity, "our assets significantly outperformed expectations," Nichols said.

Devon now expects to produce 243 to 247 million barrels of oil equivalent - a 3% increase over 2008 levels.

-By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com