Anadarko Petroleum narrows 2Q loss on higher revenue; increases full-year sales volume outlook

Anadarko narrows 2Q loss as gas production rises

DENVER — Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which has a stake in BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, said Tuesday its second-quarter loss narrowed because of increased production from its onshore properties.

Anadarko posted a loss of $40 million, or 8 cents a share, in the April-June period. A year ago, it recorded a loss of $226 million, or 47 cents a share.

The most recent results included $284 million in one-time, after-tax charges, related largely to derivatives. Excluding those, Anadarko had net income of $244 million, or 49 cents a share.

Revenue totaled $2.6 billion, compared with $1.9 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 36 cents a share on revenue of $2.75 billion. Such estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Anadarko has a 25 percent interest in the BP PLC well that exploded April 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and sending millions of gallons of oil into the sea.

BP has so far billed Anadarko $1.2 billion for its share of cleanup costs and damages. Anadarko has refused to pay, contending the British oil giant should have prevented the explosion. BP has said it intends to collect.

Analysts estimate total costs from the disaster could run as high as $60 billion.

Anadarko said it had $3.5 billion in cash on hand at the end of the quarter.

It also announced $6.5 billion in new bank commitments that will be used to extend the maturity date of credit facilities, replace near-term maturing debt and provide access to additional capital “should ongoing needs arise,” CEO Jim Hackett said in a statement.

In the second quarter, Anadarko said it benefited from increased production of natural gas in several large shale formations on land in the U.S., including Marcellus, Eagleford and Haynesville, as well as natural gas liquids its operations in the Rockies.

Argus Research analyst Phill Weiss said Anadarko’s results overall were pretty good, but pointed out that natural gas and natural gas liquids production isn’t as lucrative as oil production.

Anadarko increased its full-year sales volume forecast to a range between 232 million barrels of oil equivalent to 236 million barrels of oil equivalent.

That’s an increase from a previous forecast of 230 million to 234 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Anadarko, which is based in The Woodlands, Texas, issued the results after the market closed. Its shares fell 13 cents to close Tuesday at $53.14, and at that price have lost about $10.24 billion in value since April 20. The shares rose 46 cents in after-hours trading.