Anadarko Looking to Move Past Tronox Legal Saga
Al Walker (Photo courtesy Anadarko)
Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Tuesday said it expects to end its long-running legal saga surrounding Tronox Ltd sometime during the second half of this year, closure that will allow it to focus more intently on its oil and gas operations.
Al Walker, Anadarko's chief executive officer, told investors on a conference call that he believes the matter is "in the rearview mirror," enabling Anadarko to focus more on exploration, development and project management.
The matter is expected to be finalized in the third or fourth quarter, the company said.
"Investor focus can now shift back to the company's impressive portfolio of assets and operations," Raymond James analyst Andrew Coleman wrote in a note to clients late Monday.
After the close on Monday, Anadarko reported a first-quarter loss of $2.7 billion, as a previously announced $5.15 billion settlement hurt results. In April, said it would pay to resolve a lawsuit over environmental liabilities it inherited in a 2006 acquisition that included titanium dioxide producer Tronox. .
Still, the Houston company reported record oil and gas output that pushed its profit excluding one-time items above Wall Street estimates.
Anadarko peer EOG Resources Inc also reported earnings that topped analysts' views on Monday on better-than-expected output of crude oil from the Eagle Ford field in south Texas.
On a conference call on Tuesday, EOG said it has identified a decade's worth of new locations to drill for oil in parts of Colorado and Wyoming located in the DJ Basin.
CEO Bill Thomas also said stronger crude oil prices for the balance of the year. Natural gas prices are likely to rise during the storage withdrawal season, but not high enough to encourage EOG to drill new dry gas wells, the executive said.
Shares of Houston-based EOG rose $4.05, or 4 percent, to $103.30 in midday New York Stock Exchange trading. Anadarko shares climbed $2.76, or nearly 3 percent, to $102.25.
(Reporting by Anna Driver; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
