By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 7 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reallocated $150-200 million from drilling and related activities to additional repurchases of its common stock. The company's revised 2005 capital spending plan is $2.7-3 billion.
Jim Hackett, Anadarko president and CEO, said the company's stock buyback program reached $1.3 billion in 2004. That goal had not been expected until early 2005.
"We expect to continue an active buy-back program in 2005, first utilizing the monies from the reduced capital program. In addition, we currently plan to direct about half of free cash flow available from operations in 2005 to further share repurchases," he said.
As conditions change, the company will manage toward higher per-share returns, Hackett said, adding that oil and natural gas prices have fallen since Anadarko announced its 2005 budget in November 2004.
"The development drilling prospects are still economically viable projects and are important to our portfolio. We are simply deferring them until a more opportune time," Hackett said. Anadarko's 2005 capital spending plan still includes $1 billion of development drilling.
Since mid-2004, Anadarko has refocused its strategy, balancing the portfolio through asset sales totaling $3.3 billion and retiring more than $1.2 billion of debt (OGJ Online, June 10, 2004).