The losses come largely from a $4 billion settlement with oil giant BP. The settlement was the culmination of a protracted legal battle over 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of the accident, Anadarko controlled 25% of the damaged Macondo well. The settlement did not entail an admission of liability from either party. As part of the deal, Anadarko will drop its charges of gross negligence against BP.
With its Deepwater Horizon troubles behind it, Anadarko could be poised for growth. Its sales in 2011 rose 6% from the year before, to 248 million barrels of oil equivalent. It also has plans to ratchet back up exploration in the Gulf to pre-drilling moratorium levels. And in Mozambique, it found triple the amount of recoverable natural gas that it thought it would. Legal questions still loom, though. Analysts predict that a lawsuit stemming from a 2006 acquisition could cost the company up to $5 billion.
