Diamondback Energy
Q3 2022 Earnings Call
Nov 08, 2022, 9:00 a.m. ET
Contents:
- Prepared Remarks
- Questions and Answers
- Call Participants
Prepared Remarks:
Operator
Hello, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Diamondback Energy third quarter 2022 earnings conference call. [Operator instructions] It is now my pleasure to introduce vice president of investor relations, Adam Lawlis.
Adam Lawlis -- Vice President, Investor Relations
Thank you, Andrew. Good morning, and welcome to Diamondback Energy third quarter 2022 conference call. During our call today, we will reference an updated investor presentation, which can be found on Diamondback's website. Representing Diamondback today are Travis Stice, chairman and CEO; Kaes Van't Hof, president and CFO; and Danny Wesson, COO.
During this conference call, the participants may make certain forward-looking statements relating to the company's financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, and businesses. We caution you that actual results could differ materially from those that are indicated in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. Information concerning these factors can be found in the company's filings with the SEC. In addition, we will make reference to certain non-GAAP measures.
The reconciliations with the appropriate GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release issued yesterday afternoon. I'll now turn the call over to Travis Stice.
Travis Stice -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Adam. And before we start with my prepared remarks this morning, I want to encourage each of you to please take advantage of one of our greatest privileges we have as Americans, our freedom to elect our representatives. Please take the time off your busy schedules today to go vote, if you've not already done so. Welcome to Diamondback's third quarter earnings call.
A Diamondback, we pride ourselves on our execution. Our commitment to being the lowest-cost operator in the Permian Basin has and will continue to position us for success through the cycle. The third quarter was no exception. In the quarter, we produced over 224,000 barrels of oil per day and generated approximately $1.7 billion in operating cash flow.
Our capex was once again within our guidance range, leading to free cash flow of nearly $1.2 billion. As we previously announced, we increased our return of capital commitment and stated that beginning this quarter, we would return at least 75% of free cash flow back to our shareholders, up from at least 50% previously. At 75%, total capital return was nearly $875 million, with dividends totaling $403 million or $2.26 per share. The remaining $472 million went toward our opportunistic share repurchase program, where we bought back nearly 4 million shares at an average price of approximately $120 a share.