By Sourasis Bose

(Reuters) - EOG Resources ( EOG ) said on Friday its debt levels in the near term would put the oil and gas producer in a position to allocate more than 100% of free-cash-flow for shareholder returns.

Shares of the company rose 4.8% to $132.54 in afternoon trade.

The company said it would raise its debt balance to a range of $5 to $6 billion in the next 12 to 18 months, which would make additional cash available for investor payouts. 

"In the near term, that does imply that we will definitely be in a position to exceed the 70% (returns) commitment and quite frankly ... at times more than 100% of return of free cash flow to the shareholders," CEO Ezra Yacob said.

The comments came a day after the company boosted its share buyback plan by $5 billion and raised its dividend after beating third-quarter profit estimates.

EOG added it will continue to monitor the market for opportunities to repurchase shares for the remainder of the year.

Even though oil and gas prices have declined from the peaks of 2022, energy firms have continued to boost payouts to reassure investors of their discipline amid an uncertain outlook for fossil fuels. 

The company said it aims to maintain its balance sheet in a way that its total debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio equals less than one, even if West Texas Intermediate crude prices hit $45 per barrel. 

The benchmark contract for U.S. crude was trading at $70.16 per barrel on Friday afternoon. 

A lower debt to EBITDA ratio, an industry metric to gauge the financial health of a company, is a positive indicator of a company's ability to repay its debt. 

The company had a long term debt of $3.78 billion as of Sept. 30 while it had about $6.12 billion in cash or equivalents.