Occidental to Sell Anadarko Africa Assets for $8.8 Billion

Occidental Petroleum Corp. agreed to sell Anadarko Petroleum Corp. assets in four African nations to Total SA for $8.8 billion, contingent on the Houston-based oil producer’s long-running effort to buy Anadarko.

The assets that would be sold are in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa, Occidental said in a statement Sunday. They would represent about 6 percent of Occidental’s proforma expected net production and 7 percent of the cash flow after capital expenditures for 2020.

Occidental is locked in a bidding war with Chevron Corp. to win control of Anadarko and become the leading producer in the fast-growing Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. Woodlands, Texas-based Anadarko agreed to resume talks with Occidental over its $76-a-share bid two weeks after announcing a $65-a-share deal with Chevron.

“The $8.8 billion value to be received for Africa represents an attractive value based on our extensive evaluation over the last 18 months,” Vicki Hollub, president and chief executive officer of Occidental said in a statement. “Total has extensive experience working in Africa and is well positioned to maximize value from these assets.’’

The French energy giant is a major player in the LNG market, and has a network of gasoline service stations in Mozambique.

Should the deal be finalized, it would largely wrap up the $10 billion asset divestiture plan Occidental has targeted to complete the acquisition of Anadarko, according to the statement.

Occidental’s Hollub has been pursuing Anadarko for 15 months and recently recruited help from billionaire Warren Buffett to bolster the bid. Buffett invested $10 billion in Occidental last week after Hollub flew to visit him in Omaha, Nebraska.