Who could have believed that Anadarko Petroleum
I'm talking about the exploration and production company's two acquisitions in 2006 that totaled more than $23 billion. Ever since that time, Anadarko has been patiently rationalizing its portfolio and paying down debt.
While the company initially believed it would need to float billions of dollars' worth of new shares to help fund its growth plans, selling off assets has brought in so much cash (nearly $15 billion) that it has met its debt-ratio target without resorting to diluting equity. To name just two of the major deals, Canadian Natural Resources
The continuous asset shuffle makes it a bit difficult to compare Anadarko's fourth-quarter results with past ones, but a few figures are clear enough. The company's production volumes slightly beat guidance, and both gas and liquids output rose from the third quarter. Natural gas production was up steeply, primarily because of the ramp-up of Helix Energy Solutions'
Per-barrel lifting costs were exceptionally low, dropping almost 20% from the previous quarter's level down to $4.40/BOE. Fools can't get too comfortable with this low level, however. Guidance for earnings for the new fiscal year is right back into the mid-$5 range, because of spending for higher workover and coal-bed methane dewatering activity, in addition to one-time maintenance.
While slower-growing Anadarko tends to lose the spotlight to Fool favorite Chesapeake Energy
