Total mulls Anadarko's Africa assets

• May 07 2019
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/total-mulls-anadarko-s-africa-assets_164101

Paris, France (AFP) — French energy giant Total said it has reached a deal with Occidental to acquire Anadarko Petroleum's oil and gas assets in Africa — but only if the mid-sized US firm Occidental wins its fierce takeover battle for Anadarko with the much bigger Chevron.

The move further bolsters Occidental's hostile takeover bid for Anadarko after American mega-investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway got involved last week, investing $10 billion in Occidental.

Anadarko's board had already approved an offer from Chevron when Occidental unveiled a higher bid last month, kicking off a tug-of-war over the company's assets in the shale-rich Permian Basin in Texas.

On Sunday night Total waded into the dispute, announcing it would buy Anadarko's assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa for $8.8 billion — but there was a catch.

“The transaction is contingent upon Occidental entering into and completing its proposed acquisition of Anadarko,” the French company said in a statement.

CEO Patrick Pouyanne said the “proposed transaction is a win/win for Total and Occidental”.

“Total would get access to around over three billion boe (barrels of oil equivalent) of resources and Occidental would be able to strengthen its post-completion balance sheet by monetising immediately the international assets of Anadarko.”