2009-08-15-2008-04-01-2009-01-01

Acquired 50% interest in Peregrino Field offshore Brazil to total 100%.

Norwegian national oil company StatoilHydro, Oslo, (Oslo: STL) has closed its acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s, Houston, (NYSE: APC) 50% interest in Peregrino Field offshore Brazil to total 100% for $1.4 billion of net after-tax proceeds. The Peregrino heavy-oil field includes interest in the BM-C-7, BM-C-529 and BM-C-530 blocks in the Campos Basin 50 miles off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Expected reserves for Peregrino are 500 million barrels of oil excluding identified upsides. StatoilHydro expects the field to come onstream in 2010. Planned plateau production from the field is to be 100,000 barrels per day, which is expected to be reached within the first year of production. The deal gives StatoilHydro 100% interest and operatorship of the development. Anadarko retains its interest in seven exploration blocks, covering approximately 1 million gross acres in the Campos and Espírito Santo basins. Anadarko and partners are currently drilling the pre-salt Serpa prospect on block BM-ES-24. At least four additional pre-salt tests are planned for 2009, including further exploration and appraisal drilling near Anadarko's recent Wahoo discovery on block BM-C-30 in the Campos Basin. Thore E. Kristiansen, senior vice president for StatoilHydro's South Atlantic region, says, "This deal underpins StatoilHydro's long-term commitment to Brazil, and will allow us to establish a leading position in an appealing core area, in a region with significant growth potential." StatoilHydro's portfolio in Brazil also includes seven other exploration licenses in the Santos, Campos, Jequitinhonha, Espírito Santo and Camamu basins. Anadarko president and chief executive Jim Hackett says, "The sale of Peregrino provides us with an opportunity to strategically redeploy capital toward our lower-risk assets in the U.S. onshore and high-impact oil projects such as Caesar/Tonga in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and the Jubilee development offshore Ghana, both of which are anticipated to add significant volumes by 2011." He says that with the $1.4 billion received from the sale with an anticipated book gain of approximately $900 million, the deal enhances the company's balance sheet and is targeting a net debt-to-cap ratio of 25% to 35% by year-end. Jefferies Randall & Dewey and UBS Securities LLC were advisors to Anadarko.