US oil and gas producer Anadarko has agreed to sell its Eagleford Shale assets in South Texas (United States) to Sanchez Energy Corporation and Blackstone for approximately US$2.3bn. The transaction covers around 627 km² in Dimmit and Webb counties. At the end of 2016, sales volumes from these assets totalled approximately 45,000 bbl/d of liquids and approximately 131 mcf/d (3.7 mcm/d) of gas. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments.
This divestment follows the sale of Anadarko's assets in north-central Pennsylvania, to Alta Marcellus Development for around US$1.24bn in December 2016. The sale included operated and non-operated upstream assets and operated midstream assets, covering around 790 km² and corresponding to an average shale gas production of 470 mcf/d (13 mcm/d, i.e. 4.8 bcm/year).
Anadarko plans to accelerate capital investments in its higher-return oil opportunities in the Delaware Basin, the DJ Basin, and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The sale of shale assets will enable to group to finance these developments.