Apache Corp. heeded advice from activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC and is exiting two costly natural gas projects as it considers selling some or all of its international assets.
The company will sell its stake in the Wheatstone LNG project under construction in Australia and the proposed Kitimat LNG facility in Canada, Apache said in a statement. Apache, which got 42% of its 2013 revenue from the U.S., may sell international assets “consistent with the company’s ongoing repositioning for profitable and repeatable North American onshore growth.”
Jana announced last week it had taken a $1 billion stake in the company and was pushing for a sale of assets and an exit from the LNG projects. Those actions would free cash for share buybacks and reduce spending risks, according to Jana’s July 22 letter to investors.
Global energy producers continue to face pressure to cut spending and focus on drilling opportunities in the U.S., where oil production has reached the highest level in more than 25 years. Apache’s exposure to high-cost LNG projects and Egypt, where it produces the equivalent of 54,000 barrels of oil a day, have been a drag on shares for a decade, Jana said in the letter.
Apache rose 3.1% to $104.40 at 8:57 a.m. in New York on July 31, before the start of regular trading on U.S. markets.
‘Stronger focus’
“The potential for them to have to fund those projects going forward has been weighing on the stock,” said Brian Youngberg, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis. “The market will view an even stronger focus on the U.S. as a major positive.”
The company is in early discussions with potential buyers for its stake in the $27 billion Wheatstone LNG project in Australia, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. The Chevron Corp.-operated project could generate as much as $1 billion in free cash flow for Apache by 2018 after its slated 2016 startup.
The LNG projects have been a drain on Apache’s capital, absorbing about $2 billion in spending this year, the company has said. Chairman and CEO Steven Farris had previously stated he wanted to reduce the company’s stake in the Kitimat LNG project on the western coast of Canada, saying in February that he was “very confident” Apache and Chevron would find a buyer this year to reduce their share of costs.
Apache’s net income for the second quarter fell by 41% to $613 million, or $1.31 a share, from $1.04 billion, or $2.54, a year earlier, the company reported today. Excluding certain one-time items, per-share profit was three cents more than the $1.64 average of 31 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 18% to $3.48 billion.
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