HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) today announced third-quarter 2009 net income from continuing operations attributable to common stockholders totaled $200 million, or $0.40 per share (diluted). These results include certain items typically excluded by the investment community in published estimates. In total, these items increased net income by approximately $251 million, or $0.51 per share (diluted) on an after-tax basis.⁽¹⁾ Cash flow from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2009 totaled slightly more than $1 billion, and discretionary cash flow totaled approximately $1.26 billion.⁽²⁾

THIRD-QUARTER 2009 HIGHLIGHTS

• Achieved record quarterly sales volumes (from retained properties), a 12-percent increase over third-quarter 2008
• Reduced lease operating expense (LOE) per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE) by 9 percent sequentially over the second-quarter 2009, and by 15 percent year-to-date over the comparable nine-month period in 2008
• Announced deepwater drilling successes in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa
• Received Ghanaian government approval for the Jubilee field Phase I development plan

“The positive third-quarter results continue to demonstrate the value of Anadarko’s portfolio, with strong performance from both our producing assets and deepwater exploration program,” Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said. “Our exploration, drilling and operations teams continued to perform very well in achieving record sales volumes, lower costs, increased efficiencies and differentiating deepwater drilling success.”

Third-quarter 2009 sales volumes of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids totaled 57 million BOE, or 616,000 BOE per day, comprised of natural gas sales volumes that averaged 2.144 billion cubic feet per day, oil sales volumes that averaged 205,000 barrels per day and natural gas liquids sales volumes that averaged 54,000 barrels per day.

“As a result of both improved operating performance and the absence of severe weather in the Gulf of Mexico, we expect our full-year sales volumes to be approximately 220 million BOE, up from our original midpoint of 210 million BOE at the beginning of the year, without increasing capital spending,” continued Hackett. “This equates to a forecasted growth rate of approximately 7 percent over our 2008 total sales volumes of 206 million BOE, while spending approximately 35 percent less capital on near-term projects.”

In July, Anadarko announced the Vito exploration well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico encountered more than 250 net feet of oil pay in Miocene sands. This success was followed by the announcement of the Venus discovery offshore Sierra Leone in September. The results of the Venus well confirmed the existence of an active petroleum system in this frontier basin, thereby enhancing the prospectivity of the company’s approximately 8 million gross acres offshore West Africa.

Anadarko also continued to make significant progress on its mega projects in West Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore Ghana, Anadarko and its partners successfully drilled the Mahogany-4 appraisal well. The well, which was located outside the existing Jubilee Unit boundary, encountered more than 140 net feet of oil pay and expanded the potential productive area of the Jubilee field to the south and east. Also in Ghana, the Jubilee project reached an important milestone during the third quarter, as the Ghanaian government formally approved the Jubilee field Phase I Plan of Development and Unitization Agreement. The partnership has drilled approximately 70 percent of the development wells in the field, awarded all contracts and completed about 70 percent of the construction work on the FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading vessel). Jubilee remains on schedule to achieve first production during the fourth quarter of 2010.

In the Gulf of Mexico during the third quarter, the company successfully drilled a development well near the Tonga West discovery as part of the Caesar/Tonga complex in the Green Canyon area. The well encountered more than 500 net feet of oil pay, and it will be tied back to Anadarko’s Constitution spar. The partnership is currently drilling another development well in the complex, a sidetrack to the original Caesar discovery, which will be the third of four expected subsea wells in the development. The project currently remains on schedule, with first production expected in early 2011.

CONFERENCE CALL TOMORROW AT 9 A.M. CST, 10 A.M. EST

Anadarko will host a conference call on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 9 a.m. Central Standard Time (10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) to discuss third-quarter results and the company’s outlook for the remainder of 2009. The dial-in number is 888.679.8037 in the United States or 617.213.4849 internationally. The confirmation number is 87335929. For complete instructions on how to participate in the conference call, or to listen to the live audio webcast and slide presentation, please visit www.anadarko.com. A replay of the call will also be available on the Web site for approximately 30 days following the conference call.

ANADARKO OPERATIONS REPORT

For more details on Anadarko’s operations, please refer to the comprehensive report on third-quarter activity. The report will be available at www.anadarko.com on the Investor Relations page.

FINANCIAL DATA

Nine pages of summary financial data follow, including current hedge positions, financial guidance and supplemental production guidance.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by exploring for, acquiring and developing oil and natural gas resources vital to the world’s health and welfare. As of year-end 2008, the company had approximately 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves, making it one of the world’s largest independent exploration and production companies. For more information about Anadarko, please visit www.anadarko.com.

⁽¹⁾ See the accompanying table for details of certain items affecting comparability.

⁽²⁾ See the accompanying table for a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures and a statement indicating why management believes the non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information for investors.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Anadarko believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this news release, including Anadarko’s ability to achieve its production targets, successfully manage its capital expenditures, and timely complete and commercially operate the projects and drilling prospects identified in this news release. See “Risk Factors” in the company’s 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other public filings and press releases. Anadarko undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.