History
Anadarko was formed in 1959 as a subsidiary of Panhandle Eastern Corporation Pipe Line Company after the discovery of large amounts of natural gas in the Anadarko Basin, which underlies the western part of the state of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, and extending into southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado.
In 1986, Panhandle Eastern Corporation distributed its interests in Anadarko to its shareholders via a corporate spin-off, and Anadarko became a public company.[4]
In 1999, the company purchased a 7.5 acre tract in The Woodlands, Texas from the Woodlands Land Company to build an 800000 sqft, 32-story headquarters building, on the site.[5] In 2012, the company began construction of another office tower adjacent to its headquarters.[6] The company named its two office towers after former CEOs.[7] The buildings were completed in 2014.[8]
In April 2000, the company acquired Union Pacific Resources in a $4.4 billion transaction.[9][10]
In June 2001, the company acquired Berkeley Petroleum Corporation for C$1.2 billion plus the assumption of C$400 million in debt.[11]
In December 2003, Robert J. Allison Jr. resigned as chief executive officer and was replaced by James T. Hackett, previously the chief operating officer of Devon Energy.[12]
In June 2006, the company acquired Western Gas Resources in a $5.3 billion cash transaction.[13]
In August 2006, the company acquired Kerr-McGee for $16 billion in cash.[14][15]
In January 2007, the company sold assets in West Texas for $1 billion.[16]
In February 2007, the company sold assets in Oklahoma and Texas for $860 million.[17]
In December 2008, the company sold its 50% interest in the Peregrino heavy oil field offshore Brazil to Statoil for $1.4 billion.[18]
In January 2012, the company sold midstream assets to Western Gas Partners for $483 million.[19]
In January 2012, the company announced the discovery of a significant natural gas field, the Collier gas field, offshore Mozambique.[20]
In May 2012, a planned CEO succession of Al Walker occurred, with Jim Hackett becoming Executive Chairman until May 2013, when Hackett retired to pursue a master's degree in theology. Al Walker became Chairman as well as CEO in May 2013.
In 2015, the company made an offer to acquire Apache Corporation, but the offer was rejected.[21]
In February 2016, the company sold its interest in the Springfield oil and gas gathering system near the Eagle Ford shale for $750 million to Western Gas Partners.[22]
In March 2016, the company announced layoffs affecting 1,000 employees or 17% of its staff. The layoffs were the result of weak commodity prices.[23]
In December 2016, the company acquired assets in the Gulf of Mexico from Freeport-McMoRan.[24] The company also announced the sale of its assets in the Marcellus Shale.[25]
In January 2017, the company sold its assets in the Eagle Ford to Sanchez Energy and The Blackstone Group for $2.3 billion.[26]
In June 2019, the company and the co-venturers in Mozambique’s Offshore Area 1 proceeded to start the Area 1 Mozambique LNG project, Mozambique's first onshore LNG development, to support the development of the Golfinho gas field and Atum gas field.[27]
In August 2019, the company was acquired by Occidental Petroleum[28] after Occidental outbid Chevron Corporation.[29][30][31]
