Unconventional natural gas plays continue to attract companies and investors like bees to honey, but today’s more immediate focus is on chasing better returns, and that means producing the associated natural gas liquids (NGLs) contained within some of those plays. Production of NGLs helps to offset low-gas-price worries that have swept the industry and called into question shale economics.

And, according to many E&P executives presenting at the 38th annual Howard Weil Energy Conference, rigs are shifting to more oily plays until gas prices rebound. Few announced actual plans to lay down rigs, however.

“For one brief shining moment, we were the number-one gas producer in North America, but we are soon to be surpassed by the Exxon-XTO combination. Anyway, right now I’d rather be the number-one oil producer in the U.S., so that’s my new goal,” joked Chesapeake Energy Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Aubrey McClendon.

After the laughter died down from the packed house of institutional investors, he said Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake will accelerate the transfer of some rigs to six oily plays—two in Wyoming, two in Oklahoma and two in the Permian Basin. “We will be more chatty about these plays in the future, once leasing activity dies down,” he said.

Meanwhile, international interest in shale-gas joint ventures continues, with “probably another one or two up our sleeve. We have talked to people from virtually every continent and there is enormous strategic interest.”

Strategic drilling plans developed in reaction to gas prices and longer-term goals are causing several companies to revamp their asset mix, none more so than Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City.

“The gas surplus is no surprise,” said Devon chairman Larry Nichols. “A lot of people used their hedge money to drill last year and they ignored the price signals they were getting—and Wall Street has rewarded gas drilling. In 2009 we took our rig count from 120 down to 30, but that kind of discipline was not rewarded.”

This year Devon plans to spend $4.5 billion, with 80% targeting unconventional plays, and 44% of that in five shale plays.

While many people think the Barnett shale opportunity is over, Devon does not, said Nichols. “We have produced 2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) there and have 4,200 wells producing, but we think we have 7,000 wells yet to drill and that we can produce 18 Tcf in all. We have not maximized our well count or well density as some others have, due to our disciplined approach.”

Devon is also pursuing a measured approach elsewhere. Since a significant part of its Haynesville shale acreage is already held by production, it is not compelled to drill there, he said, and in fact, it only drilled nine wells there last year.

On the other hand, in western Oklahoma’s Cana Woodford play, Devon plans to drill 80 wells this year versus 41 in 2009. It has 3,500 risked locations in the Cana and 7 Tcf of gas reserves, net.

“We realized this is more than the reserves we had in our four discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, and it could be drilled for much less capital and with a greater return,” he said. Devon is reconfiguring its portfolio through significant asset sales to concentrate on North American gas and heavy-oil plays.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has 600,000 net acres in three shale plays. “These shale plays are a new source of growth for us. In the Eagle Ford we love the NGLs, and it’s oily. In the Haynesville, a very significant part of the acreage is held by production, so we can pace ourselves,” said chairman and chief executive Jim Hackett.

“We love where the Marcellus play is heading. We have four rigs running there and 15 nonoperated rigs in our joint venture with Mitsui. We have gross unrisked reserves of 30 Tcf.”

Marathon Oil Corp. chief executive officer Clarence Cazalot said the company is de-emphasizing natural gas for the next couple of years, with growth coming in the Haynesville and Marcellus plays in 2012 and beyond.

“In 2010 in the Marcellus, we really are about building a new core area and assessing the database, to assess where we want to be and where the preferred areas are. We are not going to drill for natural gas reserves with gas prices where they are today.”