Through our commitment to capital discipline and our differentiated execution, we are successfully delivering outsized financial outcomes for our shareholders, highlighted by more than $1.3 billion of free cash flow year to date.
For our $1 billion full year 2021 capital budget, at forward curve commodity pricing, we now expect to generate well over $2 billion of free cash flow this year, at a reinvestment rate below 35% and a free cash flow breakeven below $35 per barrel WTI.
We are successfully delivering on all of our financial and operational objectives and achieving bottom line results that we will put head-to-head against any other energy company and against any other sector in the S&P 500.
Under our unique return of capital framework, our shareholders get the first call on cash flow, a minimum of 40% of our total cash flow from operations in the current price environment.
Consistent with our commitment to shareholder returns and our objective to pay a competitive and sustainable base dividend, we have raised our base dividend by 20% this quarter.
This is the third quarter in a row that we have increased our base dividend, representing a cumulative 100% increase since the end of 2020, a sign of the increased confidence we have in our business.
We are also targeting approximately $500 million of share repurchases during the fourth quarter with $200 million already executed.
At a free cash flow yield north of 20%, we believe our equity offers tremendous value.
Looking ahead to fourth quarter, including our base dividend and planned share repurchases, we expect to return approximately 50% of our total cash flow from operations to equity holders, fully consistent with our return of capital framework that prioritizes the shareholder first.
Our financial flexibility and the power of our portfolio in the current commodity price environment provided the confidence for our board to also increase our total share repurchase authorization to $2.5 billion, to ensure we can continue executing on our return of capital plans as we progress through 2022.
First and foremost, our consistent execution is translating to outsized financial outcomes, highlighted by over $2 billion of expected free cash flow, with a material sequential increase expected in the fourth quarter, a full year 2021, reinvestment rate below 35% and full year corporate free cash flow breakeven $35 per barrel WTI.
Our gas capture during third quarter also exceeded 99%, as we continue to reduce our GHG emissions intensity.
There is no change to our $1 billion full year 2021 capital budget.
There is also no change to the midpoint of our full year total company oil or total company oil equivalent production guidance.
We're also raising our full year 2021 EG equity method income guidance for the second consecutive quarter to a new range of $235 million to $255 million due to stronger commodity prices.
This is a 30% increase from the guidance we provided last quarter and a 120% increase relative to our initial guidance at the beginning of the year.
Looking ahead to fourth quarter, we expect to finish the year strong with our total company oil production increasing to between 176,000 and 180,000 barrels of oil per day in comparison to 168,000 barrels of oil per day during the third quarter.
We also expect our fourth quarter total company oil equivalent production to be similar to the third quarter at 345,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with a sequential increase in the U.S. offsetting a sequential decrease in Equatorial Guinea associated with the previously referenced outage.
Early in the third quarter, we retired $900 million in debt, bringing total 2021 gross debt reduction to $1.4 billion and achieving our targeted $4 billion gross debt level.
Our base dividend is actually up 100% over that time period, now at $0.06 a share per quarter and the $50 million of annual interest savings were realized due to lower gross debt will help fund a significant portion of this base dividend increase.
Our equity return framework calls for delivering a minimum of 40% of cash from operations to shareholders when WTI is at or above $60 a barrel.
It is also competitive with any sector in the S&P 500.
At recent strip pricing, this could take our operating cash flow to approximately $1.1 billion or about a 25% sequential increase versus the third quarter.
Add to that an expected increase in dividend distributions from EG and lower capex relative to the third quarter peak and fourth quarter free cash flow could almost double to north of $850 million.
So in Q4, we expect to have lots of flexibility to exceed our 40% of operating cash flow, a minimum threshold for equity returns.
In fact, through our base dividend and approximately $500 million of share repurchases, we expect to return approximately 50% of our operating cash flow to investors during the fourth quarter while further improving our cash balance and net debt position.
There are many opportunities in the market right now that provide a sustainable free cash flow yield north of 20%.
Stepping back, the full year 2021 financial delivery is exceptional, $140 million in base dividends, $1.4 billion in debt reduction and $500 million of share repurchases representing a total return to investors combined debt and equity of over $2 billion or over 60% of our expected full year operating cash flow at strip commodity prices.
We recently completed our 2021 REx drilling program, which was focused on the continued delineation of our contiguous 50,000 net acre position in our Texas Delaware oil plant.
As a reminder, this is a new play concept for both the Woodford and Meramec that was secured through grassroots leasing at a very low cost of entry and with 100% working interest.
More specifically, one of the Woodford wells achieved an IP30 of almost 2,100 barrels of oil per day at an oil cut of 66%.
To date, we are seeing no evidence of interference between the Woodford and Meramec, consistent with our expectations due to over 700 feet of vertical separation between the two zones.
Oil cuts greater than 60%, low oil ratios below one and shallow declines.
Our 2021 capital rate of sub-35% and capital intensity as measured by capex per barrel of production are both the lowest in our independent E&P peer group, a strong validation of our leading capital and operating efficiency.
We are also one of the few E&Ps expecting to deliver a 2021 reinvestment rate at or below the S&P 500 average.
We're also delivering top quartile free cash flow yield this year among our peer group and well above the S&P 500 average.
And we are doing all of this with an investment-grade balance sheet at sub-onetime net debt to EBITDA, a 2021 leverage profile also well below both our peer group and the S&P 500 average.
Yet perhaps more importantly, we are well positioned to deliver competitive free cash flow and financial performance versus the broader market at much lower prices than we see today, all the way down to the $40 per barrel WTI range.
This is the power of our sustainable cost structure reductions, our capital and operating efficiency improvements and our commitment to capital discipline, all contributing to a sub-$35 per barrel breakeven.
Recall that we introduced a unique five-year maintenance scenario earlier this year that featured $1 billion to $1.1 billion of annual spending, $1 billion of annual free cash flow at $50 WTI and a 50% reinvestment rate.
Given we are no longer living in a $50 per barrel environment and that prices are currently north of $80 per barrel, it is both prudent and reasonable to consider some level of limited inflation up to about 10% that would yield modest pressure on the maintenance scenario capital range.
Yet importantly, this modest level of inflation pales in comparison to the uplift to our financial performance in the current environment, with a 2022 maintenance scenario free cash flow potentially on the order of $3 billion at recent strip pricing or nominally three times the $50 benchmark outcome.
And under such a maintenance scenario, we are positioned to lead the peers once again with a 2022 free cash flow yield above 20%, far in excess of the S&P 500 free cash flow yield of approximately 4%.
Our minimum 40% of cash flow target translates to about $1.6 billion of equity holder returns next year.
At the expected 4Q run rate of 50% of CFO, 2022 equity holder returns would increase to approximately $2 billion, while still improving our cash balance and net debt position.
Even at a more conservative $60 per barrel oil price environment, our minimum 40% of cash flow targets still translates to about $1.1 billion of equity holder returns in 2022.
The confidence in this outsized delivery is further supported by recent board action to increase our share repurchase authorization to $2.5 billion to ensure we have sufficient runway to continue delivering on our return of capital commitment next year.

Summary:
For our $1 billion full year 2021 capital budget, at forward curve commodity pricing, we now expect to generate well over $2 billion of free cash flow this year, at a reinvestment rate below 35% and a free cash flow breakeven below $35 per barrel WTI.
There is no change to our $1 billion full year 2021 capital budget.
There is also no change to the midpoint of our full year total company oil or total company oil equivalent production guidance.
We're also raising our full year 2021 EG equity method income guidance for the second consecutive quarter to a new range of $235 million to $255 million due to stronger commodity prices.
We also expect our fourth quarter total company oil equivalent production to be similar to the third quarter at 345,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with a sequential increase in the U.S. offsetting a sequential decrease in Equatorial Guinea associated with the previously referenced outage.
Recall that we introduced a unique five-year maintenance scenario earlier this year that featured $1 billion to $1.1 billion of annual spending, $1 billion of annual free cash flow at $50 WTI and a 50% reinvestment rate.