ConocoPhillips, which anticipated selling up to $8 billion in assets over a three-year period, has this year announced or closed deals valued at $16.8 billion. (Source: Hart Energy)
ConocoPhillips Co. (NYSE: COP) continues to batter its own A&D expectations with an agreement to sell its Texas Panhandle assets, the company said at the end of July.
The panhandle assets will sell for about $184 million, according to regulatory filings. The buyer was not disclosed.
ConocoPhillips started off the year by hurdling its initial three-year goal to divest up to $8 billion of noncore assets. Management has closed more than $16 billion in 2017 divestitures, with another $500 million in pending deals waiting in the wings.
The company is also “progressing” on the sale of its Anadarko Basin position in Oklahoma, Don Wallette, ConocoPhillips’ CFO, said in an earnings call on July 27. However, the company has not disclosed any assets it is holding for sale in the basin.
In 2016, ConocoPhillips’ Greater Anadarko assets included more than one million net acres of development and exploration assets in the region that stretches from the Texas Panhandle through central Oklahoma, the company said.
Pro forma for the year, the sale will reduce average production by 8,000 barrels equivalent per day (boe/d), with volumes mainly gas. Following its completed sales, ConocoPhillips reduced its capex to $4.8 billion from $5 billion.
Charles Robertson II, an analyst at Cowen & Co., said the company’s Panhandle Anadarko assets were valued at an estimated $500 million. It’s not the first time this year ConocoPhilips has sold for less than anticipated. In June, the company said it had agreed to sell its Barnett Shale assets, with a book value of about $900 million for roughly a third of that assumption: $305 million.
On July 31, the company additionally said the sale of its San Juan Basin assets to an affiliate of Hilcorp Energy Co. had closed for up to $2.8 billion, including $2.5 billion cash after closing. The deal includes contingency payments that could reach $300 million. Initially, the deal included $3 billion cash.
“Completion of the sale of our San Juan Basin assets is a key milestone in the continuing high-grading of our portfolio,” Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips chairman and CEO, said. “We believe the proceeds from this transaction along with our other dispositions are strengthening our balance sheet and allowing us to deliver on our value proposition.”
ConocoPhillips’s largest A&D splash came earlier in the year. In May, the company made a large-scale divestiture of its Canada oil sands assets to Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVE) for $13.3 billion.
As of June 30, the net book value of ConocoPhillips’ San Juan Basin assets was about $2.5 billion. The Canadian and San Juan sales reduced the company’s full-year 2017 production by an estimated 395,000 boe/d.
Scott Hanold, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets LLC, said proceeds from the asset sales were used to retire $3 billion of debt and repurchase $1 billion in stock during second-quarter 2017.
“Management committed to reducing debt to below $20 billion by year-end 2017,” Hanold said. “COP is on track with executing its strategy by reducing gross leverage and buying back stock.”
Hanold said ConocoPhillips delivered $1 billion of free-cash-flow in the past year—including dividends payouts—over the last year while growing production 2%–4% organically.
Darren Barbee can be reached at dbarbee@hartenergy.com.
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