HOUSTON — Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has officially announced its 2015 initial capital expectations and guidance, concurrent with its 2015 Investor Conference Call.
2015 INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL HIGHLIGHTS
- Anticipates approximately 5-percent year-over-year oil sales-volume growth in 2015, on a divestiture-adjusted basis(1)
- Forecasts improved 2015 liquids product mix of approximately 50 percent, even with the reduction of more than 9 million net barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) of assumed ethane rejection
- Establishes net resources of more than 1 billion BOE in the Wolfcamp Shale
- Achieves first oil at the 80,000-barrels-of-oil-per-day Lucius spar and enhances value through new production-handling agreement
- Announces more than $700 million of asset monetizations to date in 2015
“During 2015, we are confident in our ability to leverage our deep, high-quality portfolio of opportunities, strong balance sheet and efficient capital allocation to preserve value and maintain flexibility,” said Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO Al Walker. “Few companies have accomplished operationally what Anadarko has achieved over the last five years; although, in the current market, we believe it is prudent to reduce capital investments and position the company for the future, rather than to pursue year-over-year growth.
As a result, we’ve reduced our initial 2015 capital expectations by approximately 33 percent relative to last year, with plans to reduce our short-cycle U.S. onshore rig activity by 40 percent and defer approximately 125 onshore well completions. We have successfully delivered value during previous challenging commodity-price cycles, and I believe we have the skills, financial capacity and portfolio to deliver in this environment. Our focus continues to be on getting better, not necessarily bigger, while ensuring we are well positioned to accelerate activity as costs become more aligned with commodity prices and returns improve.”
2015 INITIAL SALES-VOLUME AND CAPITAL EXPECTATIONS
| Divestiture-Adjusted1 Sales-Volume Expectations | ||
| 2014 | 2015 Productive Capacity2 | 2015 Initial Expectations |
| 301 MMBOE | 308 – 314 MMBOE | 295 – 301 MMBOE |
| (1) “Divestiture-Adjusted” sales volumes reflect Anadarko’s continuing asset base, giving effect to recent divestitures. For a reconciliation, see the table on page eight attached to this release. |
| (2) “Productive Capacity” is intended to represent what the portfolio could produce within the current 2015 capital budget range if the company did not elect to reject approximately 9 million BOE of ethane and choose to defer approximately 4 million BOE related to reduced U.S. onshore well completions. |
| Initial Capital Expectations ($5.4 – $5.8 Billion)* | ||||||
| By Cash Cycle | By Area | |||||
| Short Cash Cycle | 55 | % | U.S. Onshore | 60 | % | |
| Mid Cash Cycle | 30 | % | Int’l & Deepwater Operations | 22 | % | |
| Long Cash Cycle | 12 | % | Int’l & Deepwater Exploration | 10 | % | |
| Corporate | 3 | % | Midstream & Other | 8 | % | |
| * Does not include capital investments by Western Gas Partners, LP (NYSE: WES); all percentages are approximates. |
SHORT CASH CYCLE
Anadarko’s Wattenberg Horizontal program continues to generate some of the strongest U.S. onshore returns in the industry, primarily as a result of the company’s consolidated core acreage position, expansive infrastructure and minerals-interest ownership. The resilient economics of the Wattenberg field continue to make it an attractive place to invest in 2015 as it generates better than 30-percent before-tax rates of return at current strip prices. Additionally, the company plans to allocate capital toward its Eagleford Shale activity which, at current strip prices, generates before-tax rates of return of more than 20 percent.
MID CASH CYCLE
Anadarko remains committed to investing in assets that are expected to generate significant growth in the next one to three years. Among these assets is the Wolfcamp Shale in the Delaware Basin of West Texas, where the company is applying its proven integrated midstream approach to build the foundation for future growth. As a result of the company’s delineation activities to date, Anadarko has established a net resource estimate of more than 1 billion BOE with more than 5,000 identified drilling locations in the heart of the Wolfcamp Shale oil play. Additionally, Anadarko is leveraging its hub-and-spoke philosophy at its Lucius spar in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico by reaching a new production-handling agreement for the nearby third-party Buckskin/Moccasin project, while continuing to advance development of the Heidelberg and TEN mega projects in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Ghana, respectively, toward first production in 2016.
LONG CASH CYCLE
In 2015, Anadarko expects to drill nine to 12 deepwater exploration/appraisal wells focusing on play-opening exploration opportunities in Colombia, Kenya and the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, Anadarko continues to advance existing discoveries at Shenandoah in the Gulf of Mexico and Paon offshore Côte d’Ivoire toward commerciality, while continuing to progress its Mozambique LNG project.
Four pages of supplemental materials including the company’s 2015 initial guidance, updated hedging positions and a reconciliation of divestiture-adjusted sales volumes are provided in the tables attached to this release.
