Anadarko sells West Texas oil fields

Anadarko sells West Texas oil fields

	Published : Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:37 By : Agencies Print this Story

HOUSTON (AFX) - Independent oil and gas producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced its second big divestiture in two days Thursday, saying it was selling its interest in 28 Permian Basin oil fields in West Texas to Apache Corp. for $1 billion.

The deal is the latest in a string of asset sales for Anadarko, based in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, which hopes to reduce its debt from about $26 billion at the start of the year to roughly $12 billion by the end of 2007.

The bulk of that debt -- $22.5 billion -- stems from Anadarko's acquisition last year of Kerr-McGee Corp. and Western Gas Resources Inc.

During 2007, the Permian Basin fields are expected to produce about 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 3,950 wells on 143,000 net acres, Anadarko said.

'This agreement is another important step in refocusing the portfolio following our acquisitions of Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources in August,' said Anadarko chairman and chief executive Jim Hackett.

The deal is expected to close by March 31.

Houston-based Apache, which operates worldwide, said the new fields complement existing Permian Basin production and adds to its geographic balance. The company said none of its regions contribute more than 25 percent of reserves or production.

On Wednesday, Anadarko said it agreed to sell its interests in Wyoming's Elk Basin and Gooseberry oil fields to Encore Acquisition Co. for $400 million in cash.

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.

On the New York Stock Exchange, Anadarko shares rose 26 cents to $41.93 in early afternoon trading, while Apache shares were up 10 cents to $65.96. Anadarko shares have traded in a range of $39.51 to $56.98 in the past year; Apache's range is $56.50 to $76.25.