• Weatherford International Ltd., Zug, Switzerland, (NYSE: WFT) has closed its acquisition of six oilfield service businesses from Russia-based TNK-BP for approximately $503 million in stock. Weatherford issued 24.3 million shares to TNK-BP.

TNK-BP’s oilfield business provides drilling, sidetracking, well intervention and workover, cementation and required support services in Russia.

• Western Gas Partners LP, Houston, (NYSE: WES) has closed its acquisition of the midstream assets in the Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah from Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Houston, (NYSE: APC) for $107 million.

Western Gas, which was formed by Anadarko to acquire and develop midstream assets, now holds a 51% interest in Chipeta Processing LLC. Chipeta owns a natural gas processing plant complex with two recently completed processing trains: a refrigeration unit with a design capacity of 240 million cu. ft. per day, and a cryogenic unit with capacity of 250 million cu. ft. per day, which was commissioned in April. Chipeta provides processing services to producers in the Greater Natural Buttes Field, including Anadarko.

After the acquisition, Anadarko will have a 24% interest in Chipeta.

Western Gas financed the purchase primarily through a three-year, $101.5 million, 7% note, along with issuing 351,424 common units to Anadarko and 7,172 general partner units to Western Gas Holdings LLC at approximately $14.89 per unit. Western Gas now has $100 million of availability under Anadarko’s $1.3-billion committed credit facility.

Anadarko and its affiliates now own approximately 63% of the partnership’s common and subordinated limited partner units and the entire 2% general partner interest.

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. was Western Gas’ financial advisor and Bracewell & Giuliani LLP was legal advisor.

• Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, (NYSE: CHK) has sold its fifth volumetric production payment (VPP) in a deal involving South Texas producing assets to an undisclosed buyer for $371 million.

The assets include proved reserves of approximately 68 billion cu. ft. equivalent and current net production of approximately 55 million cu. ft. equivalent per day. The company values the deal at $5.46 per million cu. ft. equivalent of proved reserves. No other information was available.

In its recent quarterly report, Chesapeake announced that since March 31, it has sold or agreed to sell approximately $900 million of assets. These include producing properties and gathering assets primarily in Louisiana for $208 million, which closed June 30; certain midstream and real-estate surface assets for $172 million closed on various dates in the second quarter; producing properties in central Texas for $75 million closed July 1; and certain other midstream assets in multiple transactions for a total of approximately $70 million with closings still pending.

Chesapeake also plans to sell certain non-Haynesville shale producing assets in Louisiana in its sixth VPP in the next 90 days, for approximately $225- to $250 million, and other mature producing assets in second-half 2009 for approximately $200 million.

The company is also working to finalize agreements with a private-equity investor to sell a 50% minority interest in its Barnett shale and Midcontinent gas-gathering and -processing assets in the company’s midstream subsidiary, Chesapeake Midstream Partners, for more than $550 million. Further, Chesapeake is in continued discussions with several companies about a possible joint venture on some or all of its Barnett shale leasehold in a transaction targeted for completion by year-end 2009.

Chesapeake plans to monetize leasehold, producing properties, midstream assets and other assets for some $2.35- to $3.05 billion in 2009 and $1.25- to $1.80 billion in 2010.

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