Apache Corp. said it would sell its shallow-water operations in the Gulf of Mexico to Fieldwood Energy LLC, a private-equity-backed firm, for $3.75 billion in cash.
The deal marks a new direction for Apache, one of America's biggest energy explorers with a stock-market value of $32 billion, which until now has produced more oil and gas in the shallows of the Gulf than any of its competitors.
But it has begun to jettison assets to shore up its balance sheet after years of aggressive acquisitions. The sale nearly accomplishes a target Apache executives set in May, when they said the company would raise $4 billion this year from asset sales.
The oil and natural-gas wells on the nearly two million acres Apache is selling amount to about 12% of its daily production. The company has shifted its focus away from the Gulf, pinning its growth prospects on drilling in Texas and Oklahoma.
Source: WSJ
