Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Anadarko CEO Stays On Message, Cites "Serious Errors" in "BP" well While Increasing Available Credit by $6.5 Bil. (APC; BP)

I'm not sure if Anadarko has decided to see their contention all the way through the courts or if it is a negotiating position. The ambiguity approach seems to be working, the stock is up 4 1/2% today at $55.53.
Either way APC did announce they had increased their available credit lines by $6.5 Billion. From Bloomberg:

Anadarko, Partner in BP’s Well, Sets Up More Loans
Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the Texas oil company that owns a stake in BP Plc’s damaged Gulf of Mexico well, said it arranged $6.5 billion in new financing following a record oil spill at the site.
Anadarko, which has so far not paid any costs of the spill, received billings from BP totaling $1.2 billion, according to a company regulatory filing today. The spill was preventable and BP’s actions “likely represent gross negligence or willful misconduct,” Anadarko, based in The Woodlands, Texas, said in a June 18 statement.

“They’re trying to get a little more breathing room to give the market greater comfort that if they owe for this, that they’re going to be able to fund it without having to mess the company up,” said Philip Weiss, an analyst at Argus Research in New York who has a “hold” rating on Anadarko shares and doesn’t own any.
The company got the bank commitments from a group of lenders led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The arrangements include a $5 billion secured, five-year facility that replaces an existing $1.3 billion setup. Anadarko said it also has a $1.5 billion secured, six-year term loan to refinance about $1.3 billion of debt set to mature in 2012. The company said in a statement it ended the second quarter with about $3.4 billion in cash.

Protecting Interests
The new bank facilities will help Anadarko’s ability “to finance our ongoing business needs, and protect the interests of all of our stakeholders by providing ample access to additional capital, should the need arise,” Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett said in the statement....MORE
Meanwhile back at the ranch:
James Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., said again today that while investigations continue into the April 20 blowout at BP's Macondo well, current evidence suggests BP was at fault and that Anadarko should not have to pay a proportional share of costs related to the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The information and findings that have been made public to date continue to reinforce our belief that serious errors in judgment occurred that have direct implications on the obligations of the parties under the operating agreement," Hackett said in a conference call this morning to discuss the company's second-quarter financial results....MORE at the Houston Chronicle's NewsWatch: Energy blog
Here's the 10Q in PDF format (now with searchable goodness)