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Adding insult to injury Monday, a $3-billion asset disposition program was announced by Devon Canada, flowing from Oklahoma-based parent Devon Energy’s move to buy assets worth almost US$2 billion.

It’s nice to have foreign companies with operations in Canada, including Devon, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and ExxonMobil, but as has been said ever since former premier Ed Stelmach’s royalty review of 2007, investment capital will go where it can get the best return.

Devon’s announcements served to underscore that sentiment.

It’s particularly striking given Devon will be selling about 80,000 barrels a day in Canada, as well as its 50 per cent interest in the Access Pipeline at a time when the market for asset dispositions — particularly those defined as “conventional and producing” — isn’t exactly robust.

It suggests the upside from the U.S. asset purchase outweighs what will likely be a disappointing price for what it sells in Canada.

The relative upside of Devon’s conventional assets in the Eagle Ford play south of the border relative to those in Canada, said Chris Seasons, the former president of Devon Canada, is among the reasons it decided to sell the bulk of that Canadian production in 2014.

“The U.S. basins are more competitive economically, for scale. It’s very hard to be a conventional player in Western Canada, with few exceptions, such as the liquids-rich Montney play which can compete with plays in the U.S, said Seasons, now a senior adviser and director with the private equity firm ARC Financial.