Offshore staff

(US, Oklahoma City) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced two multibillion-dollar deals to acquire smaller producers Kerr-McGee Corp. and Western Gas Resources Inc., in a bid to boost its North American output and more than double its annual sales.

Houston-based Anadarko will pay $16 billion in cash, or $70.50 per share, for Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee and will assume $1.6 billion in debt and other liabilities. That represents a 40% premium over Thursday's closing price of $50.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.

For independent natural gas explorer Western Gas Resources, Anadarko has agreed to pay $61 per share, or $4.74 billion, and will assume $560 million in debt. That cash offer represents a 49% premium over the company's closing stock price of $40.91 on Thursday.

Of the purchase, Anadarko Chairman, President and CEO Jim Hackett said, "We are creating a combined company with industry-leading positions in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and the Rockies, two of the fastest-growing oil and natural gas producing regions in North America.''