Shale oil producer Devon Energy on Monday topped Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit, helped by sustained high demand for crude oil amid tight global supplies.

The company also raised its share repurchase program by 50% to $3 billion.

Benchmark crude oil prices averaged $81.24 a barrel during the first quarter, nearly 20% lower compared to last year when prices soared to multi-year peaks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, prices were still high enough for producers to remain profitable.

Production of the company averaged 641,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), in the reported quarter, higher than last year's 575,000 boepd.

The Oklahoma City-based company posted adjusted earnings of $1.46 per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.38 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)