By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON. July 24 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, said Monday that its board has authorized the purchase of up to $1 billion of its common stock.
Anadarko said the shares will be bought occasionally, depending on market conditions, either on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The repurchase program does not obligate Anadarko to acquire any specific number of shares and may be discontinued at any time.
Robert Allison Jr., Anadarko chairman and CEO, said, "Given the excellent financial and operating results we've seen in the first half and our strong portfolio of growth prospects, we believe the stock is trading at unreasonably low multiples of expected future earnings and cash flow.
"We are confident that Anadarko will have sufficient capital both to grow production at double-digit rates this year and beyond and to fund this stock buy-back program."
Anadarko has proved reserves of more than 2 billion boe and produced 522,000 boe/d in the first quarter. It operates in Texas, Louisiana, the Mid-Continent, and Rocky Mountain regions, Alaska, and the Gulf of Mexico. It also is active in Canada, Algeria, Tunisia, West Africa, Venezuela, Georgia, and the North Atlantic.