Anadarko sells assets in Rockies

Anadarko sells assets in Rockies

	Published : Thu, 18 Jan 2007 07:26 By : Agencies Print this Story

HOUSTON (AFX) - In the latest of a number of deals to reduce debt, oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it agreed to sell its interests in Wyoming's Elk Basin and Gooseberry oil fields to Encore Acquisition Co. for $400 million in cash.

As of Jan. 1, production from the fields was about 4,350 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 614 wells, Anadarko said. The deal, expected to close by the end of the first quarter, includes the Elk Basin Gas Plant and the Clear Fork Pipeline Co., an oil and natural gas gathering system.

Fort Worth-based Encore, which develops onshore oil and natural gas reserves, said it estimates the Elk Basin and Gooseberry properties have total proved reserves of about 20 million barrels.

In a research note Wednesday, Raymond James' equity research analysts said they viewed the transaction favorably, 'as Encore continues its strategy of purchasing long-lived, oil-weighted assets at fairly attractive prices.'

Anadarko, based in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, has been on a selling spree as part of a plan to reduce debt from about $26 billion to roughly $12 billion by the end of 2007.

It borrowed $22.5 billion in August to buy Kerr-McGee Corp. and Western Gas Resources Inc. and immediately began to transform the new portfolio and reduce debt, primarily through divestitures.

The company said late last month it agreed to sell two Louisiana oil fields to Exco Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash. Anadarko also has announced plans to sell assets in Venezuela and part of a deep-water Gulf of Mexico project.

In November, it said it had closed the previously announced sale of its Canadian subsidiary for about $4.24 billion to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Encore shares rose $1, or 4.46 percent, to close at $23.42, while Anadarko shares gained 21 cents to finish at $41.67.

Encore shares have traded in a range of $21.74 to $36.84 in the past year; Anadarko's range is $39.51 to $56.98.