Image: Financial Times
French supermajor Total announced on Sunday it had reached a binding agreement with Occidental Petroleum to acquire Anadarko’s assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa, which feature extensive gas reserves.
The deal is worth $8,8 billion for assets representing 1,2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of 2P reserves, of which 70 percent is gas. It also includes 2 billion boe of long-term natural gas resources in Mozambique.
According to Patrick Pouyanne, Managing Director of Total, the agreement could be finalized by 2020.
“If completed, the acquisition of Anadarko by Occidental offers us the opportunity to acquire a world class portfolio of assets in Africa, further enhancing our position as the leading IOC on the continent.We have said consistently that our M&A activities will add value by playing to our strengths and focusing on upgrading our portfolio. This is exactly what we would do here,” he said.
According to consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, such a purchase would place Total as the second biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) private vendor globally, behind Anglo-Dutch leader Shell.
The deal is pending as Anadarko’s buyer is yet to be known. Although the company had communicated in favour of American supermajor, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum’s $38 billion offer – backed with $10 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s investment arm – is currently under review.
